Decoy
by Laurenshay
Summary: What do you do when you meet your soulmate in the airport during a five-hour layover on your way home for Christmas? You make an irrational decision and invite him to come home with you. Percabeth. AU.
1. Introduction

What do you do when you meet your soulmate in the airport during a five-hour layover on your way home for Christmas?

Annabeth Chase was annoyed with the flight attendants, the crying children, and the looming prospect of having to see her self-righteous step-brothers. The airport bar seemed like the obvious choice on where to spend her layover in the Denver airport.

Percy Jackson was lost. Not physically, but mentally. After a rib injury during training for the 2016 X-Games, his professional skiing career was all but over. When trying to avoid boarding the plane that would take him away from his home, Aspen Ski Resort, and to his disapproving parents in New York, he ended up drinking away his sorrows.

 **A/N: This is just a longer introduction to the masterpiece that I call Decoy. It takes place in an alternate universe, and the characters are somewhat OOC. Many details, like family and interests, don't directly correlate with the masterpiece that is PJO, and I am aware of that. This is MY spin off. I hope you receive but a fraction of the joy that I receive while writing it. I don't own anything besides my storyline. If the support is there, the chapters will follow very soon. Reviews are motivation.**


	2. Red Wine

**Annabeth POV**

 _Why do babies cry?_ The thought kept repeating in my head, over and over like a broken record. The mother was trying to comfort the child, but all the devil responded with was more tears.

I nearly groaned aloud at the ear-piercing scream that followed my thoughts. While on the Southwest airplane, there was no escaping the noise. I tried to turn up the volume on my headphones, but all it did was combine screams with Jack Johnson, and the combination wasn't ideal. I decided to just close my eyes, and think happy thoughts to try and pass the time until landing in Denver. _Don't think about Bobby and Matthew_ , I repeated over and over, until it became a slowly a reality and my thoughts wandered to the tunes of Jingle Bell Rock and shortbread cookies. I tugged my honey blonde curls into a high ponytail, and ignored the fly always little hairs that seem to be inevitable with my curly mane.

"Ma'am, we have your glass of wine," a flight attendant spoke, and interrupted my daydreaming. I glanced up with confusion in my eyes; I didn't order any wine (although that didn't seem like such a bad idea at this point). A middle-aged woman to my left, in the window seat, cast a friendly smile towards the attendant and reached to grab the glass of wine. Just as her hand reached past me, the flight attendant thrust the glass towards the woman. Their hands collided, and time stood still. I nearly screamed. The red wine emptied from the glass, and covered my chest, soaking my white North Face jacket.

The two women both immediately professed their consolations and how sorry they were. I forced the cringe that currently occupied my face to be a half smile, and I merely chocked out, "It's okay." Although, it most definitely was not okay. My expensive jacket was stained with ugly red wine, the baby was still crying, and I was still on a plane headed home to be compared to my two step-brothers, whose lives were on track while I was unemployed and confused.

The flight attendant scuttled away to find a towel, and the lady next to me, who's name I came to find out was Demeter, kept whispering how sorry she was. Although it wasn't either of their faults, that didn't stop the anger that seemed to seethe out of my whole body. I had to take three deep breaths, plaster a smile that only reached half of its potential to my face, and then gratefully take the washcloth that a male flight attendant offered to me. The woman must have been too embarrassed to return to my aisle.

I wanted to roll my eyes, but if I were to be on my best behavior when facing my dad's new family, I had to start practicing now. No more sarcastic remarks or mentions of the latest Kardashion drama or my latest backpacking trip; only talk about politics, the economy and weather. After all, that's what Bobby and Matthew and their trophy fiancés will talk about. It's almost as if they were robots, trained on how to keep a conversation respectful and bland, while still upping their self-reputations.

When my father, Fredrick Chase, remarried, I was nine years old, and the thought of finally having siblings and a mother figure in my life seemed promising. After all, I was a chubby girl, nearing the age of necessity for a bra and "the talk". But soon, I realized that these intruders in my house, were not the picture perfect family I had imagined. My new step-mother was so concerned with the well-being of her two sons, just two years younger than myself, that she seemed to have ignored my presence altogether. My ideas of mother-daughter bonding were halted, and I ended up having to go to the store by myself to purchase my very first bra.

As my dad grew closer to the strangers in my house, I distanced myself from all of them entirely. What used to be camping trips with my dad and I, turned into me sleeping at remote locations for days at a time. When I returned, I often expected my "family" to smother me with hugs and kissed and ask where I ran off to, but instead I was greeted with a mere "sup" head nod from the twins as I would trudge up to my room. The second that I was accepted into Boston College, I packed my bags and headed across the country to avoid the constant comparison to Bobby and Matthew, and the adoration my dad and step-mom had for them.

Now, I was 24 years old, had a degree in architecture, a shady apartment in New York with even sketchier roommates, very little money, and no job, just an internship that doesn't pay. What a life, am I right? Meanwhile Bobby and Matthew sure had all their ducks in a row. Bobby was an electrical engineer, and worked for Microsoft. He had a tall, thin, bombshell of a girlfriend, who recently did some modelling for Cosmopolitan, and they lived happily in the Silicon Valley of California, near to mom and dad, of course. Matthew lived an even more impressive life, if even possible. He was just finishing his residency at St. Jude's Hospital in Oakland. His fiancé was expecting a baby girl, and they couldn't be happier. How stinkin' cute.

My thoughts were snapped back to reality when the pilot came over the speaker, and announced that we were beginning to descent into the Denver Airport. The crying baby was still wailing without a care in the world. I glanced down at my white jacket and let out a sigh. With a frown on my face, I took it off to reveal a tight blue tank top that was meant as a mere under layer, and stuffed the stained jacket into my carry on bag.

As the plane touched down in the snow covered city, my heart began to sink deeper and deeper into my chest. Just one step closer to San Francisco. Just one step closer to the tall, beautiful girls that Bobby and Matthew will flaunt around to all of our family and friends. Just one step closer to my distant father, who won't even look me in the eyes. Just one step closer to a house where I will feel like an outsider for two weeks, where I will looked down upon.

"Merry Christmas," the flight attendants dismissed us as we took turns walking out of the terminal and to the busy airport. _Yeah, what a merry merry Christmas it will be,_ my sarcastic voice spoke in my head.

As I exited the plane, I glanced down at my black Lulu Lemon leggings, thankful for the dark color to mask the red wine that had soaked through. I looked at the flight departure and arrival board, to discover that my final flight to San Francisco, was scheduled to depart in five hours, but with the weather conditions consisting of high winds and snow flurries, I suspected that would be delayed even later. Not that I minded, any excuse to not face the reality of my family was something I would be forever grateful for.

I hoisted my blue backpack over my shoulders, adjusted the beanie on my head, and started to walk. The nearest bar seemed like the perfect place to waste my time away, and my feet seemed to automatically take me there.


	3. A Coward

Percy POV

I knew the visibility was awful, and the conditions of the snow were dangerous.

I knew I shouldn't have been alone on the slopes, without my coach or teammates.

I knew that I shouldn't have attempted the switch triple rodeo, especially when my routine was already perfected for the newly released course for the 2016 X-Games, a skiing, slopestyle competition in Aspen, Colorado.

So why did I do it? Why was I so reckless? Why didn't I stop to think before making such an impulse decision that altered my life forever.

It was nine in the morning, and I was already at the top of the freshly groomed slopestyle course, trying to get a read on the conditions and the jump in the distance. Snow was falling, and the mountain seemed to be covered by clouds, making it hard to see further than five feet in front of the tips of my skis. The evergreen trees were frosted over with snow, bending the branches. The rest of the mountain seemed to be deserted, being Wednesday and such poor conditions, the other (sane) resort goers seemed to shy away from the mountain.

Nothing was going to stop me. The prospect of the X-Games was near, and the goal of obtaining a gold medal was closer. All of my childhood dreams and aspirations were so close I would taste the victory on my tongue. I had worked with my coach Grover for months perfecting my skills, and creating a routine that would hopefully clinch the medal in the competition. But I knew I had the capabilities to surpass the basic run we had perfected. I knew that I was better than settling for a routine so scripted and bland.

As I gazed out over the practice course, I visualized the perfect landing for the switch triple rodeo I planned to attempt. _Just do it you wuss_ , my devil on one shoulder screamed at me. _You know these aren't the conditions to be doing this,_ the angel on the other whispered. After another minute of contemplation, I pushed off my poles, and propelled myself forward, trying to gain speed before projecting myself off the large, groomed mound of snow.

The second my skis left the ground, I knew I had made a mistake. I started to rotate too late, and didn't have the required speed to complete the skill. _Shit_ , I thought as I crashed into the rock-hard snow.

I flinched my seat and my whole body convulsed as my sea-green eyes shot awake. My eyes scanned my surroundings, and I let out a breath to realize that I was just in the airport seats, not actually reliving the day of the accident. The same nightmare had been plaguing me for weeks, and sleeping almost inevitably led to waking up in cold sweats with tears brimming my eyes. I took a breath, and ran my hand over the brace under my jacket. I was still tightly bound together, in order to protect my broken ribs. My heart was still racing from the nightmare that recreated the dreaded day, just weeks prior.

My eyes wandered over to the flight board, that announced the departures and arrivals of flights. **Flight 4372 to New York City: Departed**. I let out a small sigh. That airplane left the Denver airport with one empty seat, because I was too much of a coward to face my family. I shut my eyes once again, and the constant buzz of the airport seemed to quiet as I attempted to gather my thoughts. _What kind of moron deliberately misses their flight? Oh yeah, me._

Now I was sitting in a busy airport, studying the wide variety of people passing by. I saw an older couple, yelling at each other in a language I couldn't decipher. I watched as a couple, probably my age, swung their enclosed hands back and forth as they walked. The man pulled his sweetheart to his side, and planted a kiss on her temple. A father walked by, with his four-year-old son perched on his shoulders. My heart seemed to clench at this, and I resorted to closing my eyes again. That bonding I witnessed reminded me too much of myself and my own father. I clenched my eyes shut even harder. _Now is not the time to be thinking of him_ , my conscience whispered to me. But I couldn't stop my mind from wandering to my family as I sat in the uncomfortable airport chair.

Memories of my father, Poseidon, danced across my mind. Him buying me my first pair of skis, just as I was learning to walk. Him teaching me the basics, even when I would scream and cry at the cold; he was so determined to make me the skier he was. Him coaching me as I grew older and more experienced in the slopestyle park. The smile that would sparkle across his olive face when I would cleanly land a trick; the way his eyes, identical to mine, would light up. Then my beautiful memories twisted into the ugly demons that haunt me to this day. The way my mother would scream at him, telling him to stop being so reckless. The constant disapproving looks she would cast us as we went up for another day on the mountain.

I knew my father was a thrill seeker, but I didn't know it would cost his life. I remember the day as vividly as yesterday. It was an average winter day, early in the ski season. My father was solo skiing, and ducked the rope into a closed area of the mountain, and was caught in an avalanche. He was stuck under the snow for thirty minutes as search and rescue frantically searched for his body, but when they found his frozen body, it was too late: he had suffocated.

From that moment on, my life took a dramatic change. My pinpoint dream of a gold medal was intensified. I needed to win for him; for my dad. I knew that it would make him proud of me.

My mom remarried a professor, Paul, who was just as equal in his hatred for my passion of skiing. The two of them would argue with me, until my mother or I was in tears, and we would reach the same standstill every time: They refused to support me or attend my competitions, but I continued to ski.

When I had my accident that took away my gold medal dreams, my mother's face danced in my vision, saying, _I told you so Perseus. Skiing is going to ruin you._ As of now, she doesn't know about the accident, even though much of the local ski community in Aspen, Colorado does. (They call me the "Almost Boy." Who was so close, but not close enough.)

Hence the reason I am cowering away from the flight that will take me back to New York. I didn't want to visit a mom and step-dad who haven't shown an ounce of love or support for the past 15 years of my life, and who will gloat at the fact that they were correct with their distrust in the sport. It wasn't like they would miss me, they started a new family with a daughter and son, 13 and 11 years old.

I glanced at the clock once again. It was 11 in the afternoon, but the bar seemed like the only place I could find comfort in now, since the ski mountain wasn't an option (thanks rib brace). I stood up from the airport chair that I had been lounging in for almost three hours now, grabbed my black carry-on backpack, shook out my jet-black hair, and started to walk to the nearest bar in the C terminal.

I arrived at a fairly mellow, lit up bar and restaurant. I took a seat on one of the stools, made eye contact with the bar manager, and pointed to a glass of scotch that he had. He seemed to understand, and brought me the glass. I swirled the toxin around in the glass cup, before downing it down my throat.

In my peripheral vision, I saw movement two seats down from me. The female occupant of the seat turned towards me, and my heart stopped beating in my chest.

My eyes went up and down her whole body, and I told myself I was staring, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. Her head was adjourned with a black beanie, and golden curls that reached her chest spilled out from underneath it. The top of her body was covered with a navy razor back tank top. _Didn't this girl realize it was 20 degrees and snowing outside_? I almost smirked at the thought. Her long legs were covered with form fitting leggings, and my eyes lingered, although I tried to keep them moving.

She caught me staring, and blew out a frustrated breath. _Damn, didn't want to mess with angry angel girl._ I averted my eyes back to my now empty glass of scotch, and tried not to look back at one of the most beautiful women I have even seen in my life.

 **A/N: Okay so here is chapter two! I hope you are excited for the future, which will primarily be percabeth interactions, and the formation of a friendship/relationship with blurry lines as to their status. I'm sorry if the ski lingo didn't make much sense to those non-skiers. I tried to keep it as simple, yet descriptive as possible. That won't affect much of the rest of the story. Please review. As an author, it becomes hard to write for a seemingly nonexistent fan base! Drop a quick "good" in the review box and it will make me smile!**


	4. Sulky Stranger

**Annabeth POV**

As I walked into the nearest bar, I was pleased to see there were no babies around: there was no way I was going to listen to one more wail coming from a fifteen-pound infant. I was even more satisfied by the lack of people in the chosen bar. While the rest of the airport was buzzing with activity, and characterized by Christmas music and sweaters, the restaurant/bar seemed to be void of all fore mentioned activity.

It was like my private sanctuary where I could prepare for my week and a half of hell.

The second I entered the wood paneled room, I noticed a young man, around my age, hunched over an empty glass. I didn't want to get on his bad side, and chose to sit at least two seats away from him. I plopped myself down on the stool, and let my backpack fall off on my shoulders and crash to the ground. I grimaced, thinking about my MacBook in there, but nonetheless I left the big backpack slumped over on the ground.

I sat down and tried to glance at the TV to see the score of the football game, but the print was too small. Another wave of annoyance coursed through my veins, and I reached into my stuffed backpack to pull out my black thick rimmed glasses. I preferred to wear contacts, but lately my dry eyes have been a major bitch, which led to the frequent combination of me being stubbornly blind as a bat and refusing to wear my glasses, and me feeling like a dork in the thick lenses.

Once the world was clear once again, I gazed from the college bowl game on the nearest TV, to the mystery man sitting a couple seats down from me. His eyes were trained downward, and his body was ridged and seemed to be aching to sit in a different position. The stranger had long, obsidian colored hair, that hung at the nape of his tanned neck. His hair was almost long enough to be pulled back into a minuscule pony tail, and I had the sudden desire to play with his hair.

 _Don't be ridiculous Annabeth, now is not the time to be checking out strangers._

But that didn't stop my heart from doing little flutters when he glanced towards me.

I've read a lot of books on phycology, and one particular novel had me convinced that your brain recognizes when you're in the same vicinity as your soulmate. It's as if their aura surrounding their body reaches toward yours.

I shook my head, and cleared those thoughts from my mind. _Who am I kidding? It's just a cute stranger, and my brain is looking for any excuse to wander its thoughts from my family to something new._

The stranger and I made accidental eye contact, and my heart lurched at how troubled and dark his eyes looked. I held his gaze, refusing to be the first to look away.

"Can I get you something to drink?" the bartender interrupted my thoughts with a kind voice. Unfortunately, I had to tear my eyes away from Mr. Tall Dark and Mysterious and look at the man whose nametag said Will S.

I started to order a glass of wine, but remembered the ugly stain that currently covered my jacket, and the order got stuck on the tip of my tongue. Instead I surprised myself, and seemingly Will too, and said, "I'll have a shot of vodka. And one for Sulky down there." And made a head gesture towards the handsome stranger.

Will poured the two small shots of the expensive liquor, and placed one down in front my myself, and his eyes had a glint as he set the second glass down in front of the man who had grabbed my attention the second my eyes landed on him. My own grey eyes were stuck on the scene in front of me. As Bartender Will placed the shot down, and then gestured over to me, the stranger's jaw unhinged. His eyes, a dark teal in this lighting, switched rapidly between the vodka, Will, and myself. The previous state of sadness and stiff posture was wiped away as he tried to comprehend why on earth I bought him a drink.

 _Why did you do it Annabeth?_ I didn't have an answer myself.

Instead of staring any longer, I bit my cheek to stop my smile, and glanced back to my own drink. I grabbed it in between my thumb and forefinger, and prepared to swallow the clear poison.

"I believe that I am supposed to be the one to buy the pretty girl a drink," a deep, hoarse voice stopped me from completing my action. I set the glass down and turned my body to face Sulky, my new name for him.

Up close and personal, I was able to notice things about Sulky that made my heart skip a few beats, and I had to mentally tell myself to control my hormones. His skin tone was a tan, olive color that seemed to have an Italian tint to it. His jaw was square, and his chin was prominent. Following his statement, he smirked to reveal one dimple, on the right side of his face. Standing, he was tall, and lanky, and possessed long arms and even longer legs.

I cleared my own throat and responded. "Well, you sure look like you need it more than I do."

He raised one eyebrow, and scoffed at my observation. "Don't act like you're Miss Sunshine either angel. You stormed in here, threw your bag across the floor, and let out a sigh that they could probably hear in Utah. I take it your day has been going about as great as mine." He stopped talking and raised the glass of liquid that I had purchased for him. I took the hint and clinked my own glass with his. We maintained eye contact as we swallowed the burning drink.

We simultaneously set our glasses down with a thud, and didn't look away from one another. I had so many things I wanted to say, but no coherent thought could be formed in my mind. I broke the silence with the one question that had been on the front of my mind since I entered.

"So, Sulky, what's your name?"

He let out a small cough, and smirked again, showing that dimple. "Did you just call me Sulky?"

I sucked on my lip to prevent another smile from escaping. I couldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing how dramatically my mood had changed in the matter of three sentences. "Yes," I responded. "You were sulking when I walked in. Don't even try and deny it."

He studied me for a couple of seconds, and the glint in his eyes vanished, like a wave coming and going.

"Yeah. I was." The brevity of his statement alarmed me. I was torn in between being curious as to what led to his drastic change in character, or just disregarding it.

He was just a stranger. It wasn't like he was going to fix any of my problems. The short lived high of emotions that he gave me with his smirk and goofy comments weren't going to change the fact that in four hours I would be on my way to San Francisco.

I sat there, consumed with my own thoughts, as his silence informed me that he was doing the same.

After a couple of minutes of silence, he spoke up. "Percy. My name is Percy Jackson." At the end of his sentence his eyes met mine. They held so much emotion, and I just wanted to understand his thoughts.

A teenage boy, probably 17 years old approached us. I was immediately weary of the situation, but Percy seemed to expect what was about to follow. The boy turned towards his family who were sitting at a nearby table, and asked, "Are you THE Percy Jackson." The emphasis on "the" caught my attention, and my nose scrunched up in confusion. _Who was this man?_

Now, his ever-changing eyes seemed to reflect pain and misery, and the smile on Percy's face was as fake as a Barbie doll. Nerveless Percy affirmed his identity and took a picture with the teen. My face must have reflected the confusion that I was feeling, because now Percy's smile had a touch of authenticity as he reached his hand towards mine.

"I'm Percy Jackson. A fuck-up in the skiing world. What's your name angel?"

I hesitantly reached my clammy hand out to meet his, but not before brushing the sweat off on my leggings. He grasped my hand in a firm, lingering handshake. "I'm Annabeth Chase. A fuck-up in my family's world. We seem like we would make a great duo."

And with this sarcastic remark, Percy's face lit up with a genuine smile, revealing a set of white teeth that had to have been the product of a set of braces.

"Do you want to have another drink with me angel? Maybe compete in a 'who's life sucks more' contest?" He asked me. I glanced at the time on my phone, smiled and nodded my head up and down.


	5. Angel Eyes

**Percy POV**

 **THUD**

The empty shot glasses hit the counter, and both Annabeth and I puckered our faces at the bitter taste.

What was I thinking?

Why couldn't I have responded to the drink with a simple, "thank you", and moved on with my life?

Once glance into her angel grey eyes, hidden beneath her glasses and I threw away any hopes of a simple "goodbye" with this girl.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a minute or so, as I felt the warm buzzing of alcohol in my system. I was at ease, and just for a brief moment, I forgot about the accident, my broken ribs, my parents, and the plane that was already nearing New York City that I should have been on.

Until she spoke, and brought me back to reality. "So," she drawled out, and I could tell I wasn't going to like the following question. "Are you going to tell me why that kid knew your name, or should I just pull out my laptop and Google you?"

"No no no," I quickly replied. I haven't searched my name on the internet since the day my accident went viral. I didn't want to read the rumors and articles about how close I was, but how I came up short. I knew it, and sure as hell didn't need to be reminded of it by other people. If I was too much of a coward to hear what my parents had to say, there was no way I was mentally strong enough to listen to strangers' comments on my status.

"I take it you aren't from around here?" I asked instead.

She gave me a funny look. "Well," she started. "Airports are generally a place where people from all over wait for their connecting flight. I don't see too many locals going through security just to sit in an airport bar."

A girl who could fire a sarcastic remark= turn on.

I let out a tiny laugh, and pointed to myself. "Well here is one local who did such thing." I paused to gather my thoughts, and gage how much of myself I wanted to tell Annabeth. I felt an immediate sense of trust, but that didn't change the fact that she was just a pretty face, who would board her flight and turn into a distant memory in just a few short hours.

I've been told so many times that maybe I would feel better if I talked to someone, and I'm sure those people who encouraged me seeking help meant from a phycologist, but Annabeth had two ears to listen, and she was much better looking.

"I'm a skier. Well, I guess an ex-skier. Within the skiing community, I was beginning to gain attention and respect. In January, I was supposed to compete in my first X-Games in Aspen, my home mountain. It was basically my only goal in life, to win a gold medal," I stopped to rub the back of my neck and shake out my hair in nervousness. This little tidbit of information was the most I've verbalized about my status of washed up skier. "I was practicing a couple weeks ago, made a really really dumb decision, and fractured a couple of ribs and had a partial tear on my meniscus. Hence this constricting thing." I lifted up my shirt to reveal the black brace around my midrift. "The fall partially collapsed my lung, and I thought I was going to stop breathing."

I let out a breath, and hunched over my empty glasses once again. I didn't want to look in her eyes, that I'm sure would be searching for so many answers to the unasked questions.

She surprised me when she finally spoke up. "I'm no doctor, but I know that broken ribs can heal in months or even weeks. What's to stop you from competing in the next X-Games?"

I sucked in a breath. That was the one question I didn't want to be asked, because I didn't have an answer.

"Next question," I uttered, my mind spinning with possible excuses as to why I was giving up so easily.

A couple weak explanations came to mind, but got lodged in my throat, because I knew that Annabeth would recognize the invalidity of them.

 _I would lose skill before then. I would be set back behind the other competitors. Being 24 wasn't exactly the youngest man in the competition, and taking a year off would be allowing younger skiers in their prime years, to take my place._

"So why are you, a guy from Colorado, sitting in the Denver airport bar for? Did you just arrive REALLY early for your flight? Or do you just enjoy this bar so much you go through security to hang out?" Annabeth badgered. She was leaning on one fist, gazing at me from under those cute glasses. Her golden hair hung down around her, affirming her angelic status.

I didn't want to keep talking, but something about her urged me on. "My flight left," I glanced at the time on my phone. "almost two hours ago. I just missed it."

She raised her eyebrows at the offhandedness of my comment. "Well shouldn't you be at the desks, getting a new flight?" She stopped, then continued to ask more questions. "Where was it going? Why did you miss it?"

"Woah, angel. Take a breath." She smiled at me in a sheepish matter. And my heart stopped beating. _What was this girl doing to me?_ "I missed it on purpose. It is probably nearing New York at this point."

A tiny laugh escaped Annabeth. "Well, uh, any particular reason that you purposely missed your flight?"

I simply responded with, "I am a coward with family issues, as well as previously stated life issues. Now enough about me. All I know is that your name is Annabeth, you look like an angel, and you were having an awful day before you met me…" I trailed off at the end and glanced at her, hoping to see some kind of indication that she thought I was funny.

When her cheeks turned red she laughed, I wanted to stand up and scream at my victory.

"My name is Annabeth Chase. I am currently unemployed, and my two step-brothers are on their way to be the youngest billionaires in the fucking world." I could tell the alcohol was influencing her choice of words, but I let her continue thinking this may be therapeutic for her, as it was for me. "I live in an apartment in New York with two people who I barely know, just because the rent is the cheapest I could find, and my step-brothers live in homes that are worth ten folds my personal worth. I am single, and my step-brothers are either engaged or about to be, to women who are tall, beautiful, intimidating, and just as successful as themselves." She took a deep breath, and I thought she was going to stop speaking, but she kept going. "And now, I'm on my way 'home'," the way she said home made me flinch. She said it with so much hatred. "To be compared to the golden boys and reminded of how much of a failure that I am."

The brokenness in her voice startled me. I searched my mind for things to say that would ease her own mental suffering, but I came up blank. The only thing I could think of was to burden her with my own family drama. After all, we did call this a 'who's life sucks more' contest.

"My mom and step-dad seem to hate me. They don't admit it, but I see it in their eyes. They've wanted to me quit skiing for as long as I could remember. I know that when I see them and tell them about my accident, the whole week will be them reminding me 'I told you so' and I can't put myself through that. Not yet."

We both let out sigh simultaneously, and then laughed.

"Wow, it's a toss-up as to who is leading the 'who's life sucks more' contest. Stay tuned for more," she grumbled. "So, why do they oppose your love for skiing so much?"

My whole body went ridged, and she must have recognized that it wasn't up for discussion because although she was previously laying on her fist, she immediately sat up straight and widened her eyes. I merely shook my head in response. I would verbalize so much, but not any mention of my father's death.

Annabeth reached out, and set a tiny hand on my upper arm, in a gesture of comfort. I leaned into her touch, and we didn't move for a while.

What a sight. Two complete strangers leaning into one another for comfort in an airport bar. About an hour ago, we didn't know each other's names, and now she knew more about me than anyone on the planet, save maybe Grover.

Slowly she raised her hand from my body, and turned to me with eyes as wide as saucers. "Come home with me," she spluttered out.

I opened my mouth to tell her she probably wasn't in her right mind, and would regret this decision later, but she slapped a hand over my mouth and stopped me from talking.

"No!" Her voice started to rise. "This is a genius idea! You come home with me, pretend to be my boyfriend, and successfully divert a fraction of the attention away from how much of a failure I am, to you. They will ask you questions and maybe, just maybe have a little bit of respect for me."

Once again, I opened my mouth to protest, but Annabeth silenced me again.

"Listen Percy, you have credit from your plane to New York. We get you a seat on my flight to San Fran, you stay at my parent's house and be my boyfriend, and save my ass big time. You don't even realize how much of a favor you would be doing me. Plus, it's the perfect excuse for you to not go home to your parents. You tell them you're with your girlfriend."

Annabeth's eyes were filled with hope, and the fact tugged at my heart strings. Something about this girl drove me absolutely crazy. The way she leaned in closer to me, and a could catch a whiff of how amazing she smelt, wasn't helping me to make a rational decision. I don't know what was wrong with me, but when her face lit up with a smile it made it all worth it.

"Yes," I spluttered out. "Let's go change my flight."

 **A/N: Okay here is chapter four! I'm excited about this chapter, and the future of the story. Please please please leave a quick review. Happy New Year, have fun tonight ;)**


	6. Now Boarding

**Annabeth POV**

Koi No Yokan. The Japanese word to describe the sense upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love.

No, not love at first sight.

This feeling isn't the passing, "Oh my, he is so handsome, it is love at first sight!" Koi No Yokan is the deep-rooted feeling that the future of love is inevitable.

As Percy was hunched over the airport ticket counter, his black sweatshirt and grey sweats covering his tall form, my mind was stuck on the idea, that this was Koi No Yokan.

The year after I graduated from Boston College, I was thriving off of the promise of the future, and spent a year traveling the world. The experience I gained from each month spent in a new country was unfathomable, but my fragile bank account took a hit.

While in Japan, I stayed in a very small motel, overcrowded and unsanitary. I stayed with a complete stranger, named Katie, but she was another free spirit from America, who was doing a photography trip. One day she asked me, "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Katie was deep in thought, so I didn't answer and she ended up answering her own rhetorical question. "I don't believe in love at first sight, but I believe in Koi No Yokan."

"Annabeth," Percy approached me and my trip to memory lane was cut short. I looked up at him. He had a goofy smile spread across his lips, which automatically lifted my spirits even higher. In his hand was a new ticket, the final destination being San Francisco. "I am officially your boyfriend."

I laughed, a real laugh. Not a giggle or a small puff of air, but a real belching laugh. Percy was like a doctor, who fixed sadness. Who gave bravery.

I hoisted my backpack over my shoulder, and Percy did the same, and walked over to gate C19. One look at the screen, which I could read thanks to my glasses, and I learned that our flight was scheduled to depart in just over an hour, and boarding would start in 30 minutes. I moved over to sit in an open seat near our busy terminal, and Percy, to my disappointment sat in the row directly across from me, not in the seat next to me. I lifted my backpack on to the seat to my right to act like I knew like he was going to choose the seat across.

No words were spoken as I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to my one friend from New York, Piper Mclean, telling her I was safe in Denver and I would call her tonight. I added an emoji of a turtle, which was our symbol that meant 'SOS WE NEED TO TALK'. She would understand, and eagerly await my phone call, where I would tell her of my notion to invite Percy home with me. I knew she would chastise my irrationalness, but would see the value in having a decoy to lure the attention away from me, and on to poor Percy. I am going to really owe him.

Speak of the devil, I glanced up at him, and he was leaned over, elbows on knees, staring at me with his almond shaped eyes. I was suddenly self-conscience of my travelling appearance, and immediately regretted the fact that I didn't wear my contacts or comb my hair or cover the small pimple on my forehead. I was aware of my naked face, and messy hair that was covered by a simple black hat.

I was prepared for him to start asking questions about the hell storm that he was about to enter in to, but instead he asked, "It is 19 degrees out. Why the hell are you wearing a tank top?"

I glanced down with a slight grimace, remembering the red wine, and my beloved North Face jacket stuffed in my carry-on backpack. I would have to do some serious stain removal when I arrived at my parents' house if I had any hope of wearing the white jacket ever again.

"I had an incident on the plane ride over. Red wine, white jacket, crying baby, total disaster. And all of my other clothing is in my checked bag."

Percy's sea green eyes sparkled in amusement. "I don't even want to know. Are you cold right now? I have a wind breaker in my carry on that I can grab for you." He started to rustle around in his own backpack, and I wanted to stop him, because I wasn't very good a receiving aid from anyone, due to my stubbornness, but the way he sounded so hopeful at the end of his statement lead me to bite back my refusal, and put on his forest green windbreaker over my tank top.

I was rewarded the second I slipped on the thin jacket. I stopped the sigh from escaping me. It smelled like boy, which, unless after the gym, is such an amazing smell. It smelled like cologne and citrus and mint and comfort, all mixed together.

I forgot how amazing and therapeutic the smell could be. It had been a long, long time since I've been engulfed in the jacket or arms of a man. One of my roommates in New York, a man named Argus, smelled like body order mixed with marijuana. Not pleasant. Not comforting. Not Percy.

"Thank you Percy," I said. We met eyes, and we both understood I was saying thank you for much more than the windbreaker.

"So Angel," he began. His use of the word angel instead of my name slightly confused me, but excited me nonetheless. I would ask about it another time. "I have quite a few questions. And I'm trying to decide which is the most important to ask."

I had a sudden flash of sympathy for this man. He dropped everything for me, is going clear across the country to spend the holidays with my pompous brothers and parents who I'm bound to snap at and create awkwardness at some point in the trip, and isn't spending the holidays with his family, who he could be mending relationships with.

He surprised me with his question. "So, what kind of food will we be eating?"

I stared at him, trying to gage if he was serious or not.

"Like, I'm not a picky eater, and the past years I've just gone to buffets alone because I've been training, so my expectations are low, but there is something special about a home cooked meal, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas. So I was just wondering what we will be eating."

My heart melted into a puddle of goop in my chest. The innocence and purity of the question caught me off guard, coming from the tough man, who was sulking and so serious just an hour ago.

"My step-mother, as evil as a paint her out to be, cooks a mean Christmas dinner. A ham, potatoes, biscuits, green beans, everything you could possibly want. And daily meals too. We will eat at home most nights, but she really is an amazing cook so don't worry."

My mind started to wander, and I wondered if he was allergic to anything, then I realized, I know absolutely nothing about my so called "boyfriend".

"Percy!" I screeched, a little too loudly I realized, when the family seated next to us cast an annoyed glance my way. "I don't even know your middle name and we have to play the act of serious couple! Bobby and Matthew and their lovers can finish each other's sentences they know each other so well. We have to learn everything there is to know about one another!"

He stared at me for a second, then spoke a truth that stung for a second. "Annabeth, I know that every situation is different. But I also know that if you don't want to be compared so harshly to your step-brothers by your parents, then quit comparing yourself to them. Just because they are close with their girlfriends, it doesn't mean you have to be a carbon copy of them to gain your parent's respect."

I averted my eyes away from his in embarrassment. What he said was hurtful, but the truth in his words was even more painful. _Why did I continually compare myself to them?_

Because my parents made them out to be perfect?

Because I wanted to achieve that amount of adoration from them? Or just a little bit of attention?

Percy started to realize the affect his words had on me, and opened his mouth to take them back. "Annabeth, I'm-"

I cut him off. "Nope. I appreciate honesty more than anything. Thank you for saying that, you're right. It is something I need to work on, and I hope you can help me with it this trip."

"Oh that reminds me," he said. "Just one more question, and then we will play our little 20 questions to get to know each other. What is the time table for our little trip? When will we come home?"

I pulled out my phone from my waist band of my leggings, and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. Once I had the calendar app open so I could visualize the next few weeks, I spoke. "So, today is December 21, and we come home on January 2, which essentially makes the trip a week and a half."

I paused to gather my thoughts. New Year's meant a midnight kiss. Then I realized, Percy and I were "dating" and expected to kiss all the time. And expected to share a bed. Oh, lord I didn't think about any of this. My mind went into hyper drive, thinking about all of the possible upcoming complications that we would have to face.

Percy seemed to sense my sudden shift of mood, from carefree with him, to stressed when thinking about home, and he stood up from his seat in the row across from me, and moved my backpack and sat down on my right.

He slowly reached his long arm up and around my shoulder, in a gesture of comfort, and I found myself leaning into Percy's touch. His fingers slowly went up and down my arm, giving me goosebumps, even though I was wearing his windbreaker.

My grey eyes brimmed with tears, without me realizing it at all. I tried to blink them back, but before long, it was useless and they fell down my cheeks. I turned my face, to hide in Percy's arms, so the rest of the world couldn't see my moment of weakness.

I mentally started to punch myself. I couldn't remember the last time I cried, and here I was crying on the broad shoulder of a man I met four hours ago. My family made me feel insecure and weak, the complete opposite of the person I strived to be every day.

Percy slowly reached his arm away from my shoulders, and I immediately thought that he saw me for the mad woman I was, and he was going to take back his offer to be my fake boyfriend.

Instead he surprised me by grabbing my face with his two hands. Percy gently removed my thick glasses, and sent them on his lap. His palms were warm, and his thumbs came up to gently wipe my tears away. My doe-eyes gazed up at him, waiting for his next move.

"Listen to me angel. I know that you are fighting demons, just as I am. You may feel weak right now, but together, we are going to help you feel strong. I am going to help you get through this weekend, and in some way, we are going to have a bit of fun with it." His minty breath fanned my face.

"I'm so sorry. I'm stronger than this," I whispered.

"I know you are. Now prove it to me, and more importantly, yourself."

My tears slowly seemed to stop. He was a mere stranger just hours prior, and now this man formed into my closest confidante. The fact was frightening, especially for a girl who hasn't had that for as long as I could remember.

With my new-found burst of confidence that would hopefully carry over into the week, I sat up straighter, and Percy's hands dropped from my cheeks. I leaned over and placed a soft, lingering kiss on his cheek. I felt his face muscles shift to form a slight smile. "Thank you Percy. You have no idea how much this means to me," I whispered while still close to his face.

"Flight 1724 to San Francisco, boarding first class and priority now" the voice over the intercom rung out.

The dose of reality seemed to slap us both across the face. We straightened up, and put more space in between us. As the other passengers for the flight stood around us, we rose too and prepared to board.

 _Three-hour flight here we go…._


	7. Twenty Questions: In the Air

**Percy POV**

My eyes scanned the rows of seats in the plane, until they landed on 12 A and B, Annabeth's and mine. I reached up and placed my carry on in the overhead bin, and turned toward Annabeth to do the same to hers. Being 6' 3" definitely made certain tasks easier. She gave a slight smile and handed me her heavy backpack.

The area around her eyes was slightly red from the tears she shed earlier. The tears seemed to come out of nowhere, and I desperately wished she would vocalize her thoughts and worries to me, but I had a gut feeling she would eventually open up to me. It would just take time.

I stalled in the aisle, and gestured for her to enter in the row before me and take the window seat. I wasn't a huge fan of being so high in the air, and looking out of a window just affirmed the fact that we could die in .2 seconds if the plane stopped working.

We settled in to our seats, and buckled our seatbelts, waiting for the rest of the plane to fill up.

A beautiful woman, long legged, big breasted, and wearing perfectly applied makeup sat on my right, in the aisle seat. The scent of her perfume wafted over to me immediately, and when I took a deep breath, it felt as if I was swallowing it. _Too strong_ , I grimaced.

She looked over at us and smiled. "I'm Aphrodite. Well aren't you two an adorable couple." And then turned back in her seat and faced forward, not looking for a response.

"See," I whispered to Annabeth. "She believes us, and we didn't 'finish each other's sentences.'"

She gave me a slight glare. "Shut up, Percy. A stranger is easier to convince than my dad and step-mom."

"Still, it's a start," I replied. Annabeth nodded her head to my statement. Her hair bounced up and down, and the slight movement caused her glasses to fall down her nose. She pushed them up with one finger. Adorable was the only word to describe the action.

 _Why was I so infatuated with this girl,_ I wondered as I subtly stared at her, while pretending to scroll through my phone.

Being a local celebrity, hookups came easily to me, but none had caught my eye quite like Annabeth.

None of them had caused me to stare for longer than socially acceptable.

None of them had been able to make me genuinely smile since the day of the accident.

None of them would have been able to convince me to fly across the country and play pretend boyfriend.

But Annabeth had. And she did it so effortlessly.

The pilot spoke over the intercom and told us to prepare for takeoff. I gripped the arm rest until my knuckles turned white as the plane started to gain speed.

Annabeth and I stayed silent until we reached the cruising altitude, then she broke the comfortable silence.

"So, I am going to give you a really detailed explanation of my family, and their interests, so it will be easy for you to join in conversation with them, and maybe it will dial down the awkwardness of it all."

She looked up at me and paused before speaking again. "Any questions," she asked, with one eyebrow quirked.

"Nope. Lay down the law Miss teacher Annabeth."

She rolled her eyes before continuing. "Okay, so my dad, Fredrick Chase, married my step-mother, Whitney, when I was in third grade. She changed her name, so she is now Whitney Chase, but I'm sure she will have you call her Whitney."

"Question," I interjected. "Should I be taking notes," I asked with a sarcastic edge to my voice.  
Her grey eyes glared at me. "Not the time for your nonsense Percy. Aren't you nervous about entering into a situation you know absolutely nothing about? Don't you want to feel more prepared?"

I replied, "Listen, angel. I know that no matter what happens, you will be right next to me, and we will be okay."

Her posture softened, and I could tell she was pleased by the response, but continued teaching. "My two step-brothers aren't assholes, their heads are just so far up their own asses, that they don't know how to respect people they believe are lower than them on the social scale. Bobby is engaged to Fiona, who has done some modeling work. You will immediately realize why once you see her."

I raised my eyebrows and licked my lips, just to annoy Annabeth.

It worked when she rolled her eyes. "Control your hormones. Bobby is an engineer and makes bank. He invests in the stock market, so maybe we could Google some trends in the stocks that we could bring up." I could tell her brain was spinning in thought.

"Question," I interjected again. "What would happen if I brought up skiing? Or something that I am actually interested in?"

She sighed. "Percy I have tried so many times to tell them about my year spent traveling the world, or my time hiking in South America, or a funny story with my best friend from New York, and all I receive back are empty stares."

"Angel, I am going to be as charismatic and respectful as I possibly can, but changing my interests to please someone else is something that I refuse to do. And you should too. So what if they talk about the stock market and the weather? Talk about what makes you happy, and if they care about you, it will make them happy too."

After she fell silent, I had some remorse about my choice of words, but everything I said was true. If anything, I hoped Annabeth would see the value in the point I was trying to make.

After she didn't speak up, I did, "Sorry, I keep interrupting your lesson Miss Annabeth. Continue?" I flashed a pout in hopes to ease the tension from my earlier statement.

When she replied in a still voice, I knew I had pissed her off. "Well that's Bobby. Matthew finished Med School at John Hopkins ridiculously fast, and is now doing his residency close to home. His girlfriend, Sarah, is pregnant, and dad and Whitney are so excited to be grandparents."

Annabeth stopped talking, and I could tell she was tense in the way that she sat straight up, facing forward, eyes cold as stone.

She was probably thinking about what a bad idea it was to bring me, the goofy, stubborn, skier to play fake boyfriend with.

Maybe thinking about all of the things that could go wrong.

Maybe about how scared she must be.

I leaned closer to her and whispered, "Hey angel. I bet you are nervous and probably regretting taking me with you, but I promise I will charm the pants off of your family members."

 _And you…_ I added in my head, but didn't dare vocalize those thoughts.

"I am going to be the best fake boyfriend you've ever had, and your parents will love me."

I had no idea if my words had any value of truth, but Annabeth was visibly relaxing, and so I continued to blubber nonsense.

"And your parents and brothers are going to treat you with respect. All of the puzzle pieces are going to fall into place. And it is all going to be okay."

 _And I get to kiss you…_ Again my hormonal thoughts dared to come out of my lips, but I held them back. She might hit me.

She gently leaned her head onto my shoulder. I didn't dare move a muscle, in fear that I would scare her off of my body.

 _She sure smelled nice…_

"My whole life, they have made me feel inadequate, and worthless, and insignificant."

She took a deep breath, but her head remained on my shoulder, and I took pride in the fact that she trusted me this much in such a short time period.

"They don't do it purposely, but it doesn't change the fact that I can't even mention my own life without the comparison to something in Bobby or Matthew's lives. And just when I start to gain confidence and happiness in the life I am building for myself, I go home and am stomped on by the constant disapproval."

I slowly lowered my head down to rest on top of hers, in hopes to convey comfort, without speaking any words.

She broke the silence. "I'm sorry I dragged you in to this Percy."

"Annabeth," I replied in a soft voice, so to keep the gentle atmosphere we had formed. "Quit saying sorry. I chose to be here. And I am going to make the most out of this impromptu vacation."

After another minute of thoughtful silence, I had come to the conclusion that something about Annabeth's angelic nature urged me to be the best possible boyfriend that she deserved.

"So girlfriend," I started. "How did we meet?"

She giggled at the absurdity of the question and lifted her head off of my shoulder. I missed her presence almost immediately, even though I would never admit that out loud.

"Hmmm, should we get creative? Or go with a basic 'ran into each other at a coffee shop?'" She asked.

"Wait, Annabeth. I currently live in Colorado, and you in New York. What is the story there?"

She quieted, and scrunched her face slightly in thought. I decided to let her take the reins in designing our perfect fake life.

"How about, we met at a bar when you were visiting your parents in New York, and we have been doing long distance?"

I slowly nodded my head. The story that was most closely related to the truth would be ideal, and easy to remember, so this believable story was perfect.

I added in, "But in this story, I am the one who buys YOU a drink."

She laughed. "No, you goof. I like it our real version."

"Fine fine," I scoffed. "So, what is your favorite color?"

She responded with a lengthy answer to a simple question, in classic Annabeth form. A smile made its way to my lips, and didn't leave for the entirety of the plane ride, as we continued the back and forth question asking game.

 **A/N: Here is the next chapter. I'm not 100% pleased with some parts of this, but I promise it will get better. Also, I apologize for any typos. I skim through chapters, but don't spend too much time combing the chapters for errors. Is anyone else having trouble uploading images? I made a cool story cover, but it won't upload.**

 **Please leave a quick review with any comments or criticism. I would greatly appreciate anything**!


	8. Meet the Parents

**Annabeth POV**

As the plane wheels hit the surface in San Francisco, and we bounced up and down as the brakes were pressed, my heart was hammering in my chest.

Just before boarding the plane in Denver, I sent a quick, simple text to my dad.

 _Hey! About to take off from Denver! I know it's short notice, but I am bringing my boyfriend, Percy, too. Excited to see you!_

The fake positivity was alarming, but hopefully it would ease the bomb that I dropped on them, with an extra guest.

Maybe they were excited about meeting someone special to me, or maybe they just disregarded the text, too consumed with listening to more stories about Matthew saving lives or Bobby's new flat.

Percy stood up next to me, and I stayed seated for as long as I could, savoring the last moments of peace that I would have. I closed my eyes, took one deep breath through my nose, just like we are taught in yoga, and gave myself a mental pep-talk.

After I felt mentally strong, and I had a smile plastered on my face, I stood up with the rest of the passengers on the plane.

The rest of them were probably eager to see their loved ones, or maybe they are coming home from a vacation to spend Christmas at home. I noticed a very tan family in the row ahead of us, and the teenager daughter was sporting a tank top that said, "Cabo, Mexico."

 _Lucky bitches…_

I was paying attention to much of the scene around me, as my thoughts zoned to my family once more, and when I reached up to grab my backpack in the overhead bin, I noticed it was gone. I brief wave of panic coursed through my veins, until Percy tapped me on the shoulder, and handed me the blue bag.

 _Damn him…_ I wasn't adjusted to the chivalry that Percy possessed.

I smiled sheepishly at the other passengers, whispered a quick, "sorry" to them for holding up the line, and followed my ridiculously handsome fake boyfriend down the terminal.

His long legs produced long strides, and I had to break out into a mini jog to catch up with him. Once I was at his side, I gave him a small shove and told him to slow down.

"Sorry Angel. Your 5'5" stature can't keep up?"

I shook my head at his mocking, and marched ahead towards baggage claim, with extra speed just to spite him, where we would be meeting my dad and Whitney.

He laughed at my determination. "I like feisty girls."

My face flushed at his comment.

God, he was so blunt and honest, and it was absolutely terrifying to me.

It also gave my butterflies.

Once at the conveyor belt that would produce our bags, I finally gained enough courage to check my phone, to see if my dad replied to my most recent text about the extra guest.

I pulled it out of my waistband, and held my breath as my eyes scanned the screen.

 _Perfect honey. Maybe him, Bobby and Matthew can all bond. We will pick you both up out front at 4:15._

That was it? Not any questions, or alarm?

Of course he would tie in his precious step-sons to my announcement. I rolled my eyes to the back of my head, but then chastised myself.

I was going to be optimistic about this trip home. That's what Percy is doing, and I at least owe it to my saving grace to put on the same happy face that he is wearing.

Speak of the devil, he let out a small yelp as the conveyor belt started to move, and bags came into view. He touched my shoulder, and pointed. His hand was warm on my exposed collarbone.

I looked at him with one eyebrow quirked. "You're so weird Percy. You squeaked like a lap dog…"

He laughed. "Sorry Angel. ADHD. The scene was getting pretty bland, and the moving bags spiced up the picture a bit."

Now it was my turn to laugh. God, this man's smile was infectious, as hard as I tried to ignore the fact.

"Okay, Percy. You are officially the weirdest boyfriend I have ever had. That's for sure."

"But also the most handsome," he spoke and he leaned his tall body lower to my face. His eyes were so green, and the contrast between his olive skin and eyes was breathtaking. His long hair was tousled over his forehead, and I wanted to touch it again.

I let out a small laugh and shoved him away, shaking my head.

 _It was definitely true though._

My past boyfriends have all been nice flings, but nothing compared to Percy, and the feelings he gave me with one glance.

His bag must have gone by, and he left my side and went to retrieve it. I watched his form as he walked away.

He was tall, and had narrow shoulders, but still was defined with muscle.

Something about a guy in grey sweats…

 _Stop Annabeth. Control yourself,_ I scolded myself. _This was a week and a half agreement. Nothing more._

I was interrupted from my thoughts when I spotted my black suitcase coming down the belt. I grabbed it off, and let out a breath of air at the heaviness of it.

Percy returned to my side, and I noticed he had a blue duffle bag and looked ready to go.

We made eye contact, and his eyes seemed to be asking, "what now?"

I took one final deep breath, and took Percy's hand with my free hand that wasn't holding my suitcase.

I wasn't sure if it was for show, to prove to my parents that we were, in fact, dating, or for my own comfort.

Most likely option number two.

Once his thumb starting to rub over my knuckles, I knew it was _definitely_ option two.

I led him out the nearest sliding glass doors, that would be the gateway to the outside world of San Francisco. As the doors opened and revealed the bright sunlight, nearing sunset, my eyes scanned for the familiar black minivan that would be picking us up.

I spotted it just a couple yards away. I dragged Percy in the direction, and he stayed silent, his thumb still doing the comforting gesture on my hand.

My dad must have seen us approaching, because the driver side door opened, and he hopped out, eagerly.

Fredrick Chase looked just as I remembered. His circular glasses were perched on his nose, his blonde hair was getting whiter as the days went on and age took its toll, and he was wearing a striped shirt, his favorite.

My heart clenched at the sight of him. The familiarity of him.

I dropped Percy's hand, and started to walk faster to my dad, who gave me a tight squeeze.

The resentment that I hold deep in my heart doesn't change the love that every daughter has for their first hero.

Once my dad let me go, Whitney gave me a brief hug. She smelled like very expensive perfume, just like always.

Once she let me go, she pulled back and held me at an arm's distance away. "You look great Annie!"

I gave her a slight smile, but slightly cringed at the use of the name "Annie." Even though I have mentioned the fact that I don't like it, she always seemed to enjoy the shortened version of my three-syllable name.

I was suddenly reminded of Percy, who must have felt incredibly awkward at the moment. I turned around to introduce him to everyone, but found that my dad was already laughing with him, and patting him on the back.

Hmm… Well that was easy.

My dad was a big teddy bear, and never tried to be the overbearing, protective dad that movies depict.

After Percy and my dad cracked another joke and laughed together, he joined me next to Whitney.

"Hello, Mrs. Chase. I'm Percy. Annabeth's boyfriend."

He flashed a smile that showed the dimple on his right cheek, and looked at me with a glint in his eyes. It seemed to say _, I told you everything would_ _be alright_.

My step-mother responded, "Oh dear call me Whitney." She brought him into a hug, and when she caught my eye over his shoulder, where he couldn't see, she mouthed the words, "he's cute." She added in a wink for good measure, before letting him go.

I smiled to myself. Percy was accurate with his prediction of charming the pants of my parents.

My dad loaded up our luggage into the black minivan, and Whitney returned to her seat in the front of the van. As Percy shuffled into the backseat of the vehicle, I followed him in.

I slammed the door shut behind us with the realization of how great the first introductions had gone.

 _Maybe this wouldn't be so bad…_

 **A/N: Here is chapter 7! I hope you are enjoying, and are excited to see how the rest of the story plays out. Please leave any types of comments and criticism that you have. I would love to hear feedback.**


	9. Need You

**Percy POV**

The only word to describe the car ride back to Annabeth's parents' house?

Awkward.

The first introductions had gone great, or at least I thought so. Which didn't explain the tense silence that consumed the minivan.

Multiple times, questions would form at the tip of my tongue, like _So what do you do for a living Mr. Chase_ , or _The temperature sure is warmer here than it is at home._

But the words got lodged in my throat, and I knew Annabeth should be the one to diffuse the awkwardness, not any futile attempt I could throw out there.

I glanced over at Annabeth, and saw her face scrunched up in Annabeth fashion. I hesitantly reached my arm over, and set my hand on her knee that was bouncing up and down.

The bouncing stopped, and she didn't look at me, but from the side of her profile I could still see a smile stretch across her face.

She was still wearing my jacket, and damn she looked good in it.

"So dad," she started, and I wanted to cheer at the end to the silence. "Are Bobby and Matthew here yet?"

Her dad glanced back in the rearview mirror at the two of us, before he spoke, "Bobby and Fiona are already at the house. Matthew had to work another day, so him and Sarah will be here tomorrow night. Boy Sarah is getting big. It is going to be so exciting…."

He kept talking about his pregnant future daughter in law, but I tuned him out and I watched Annabeth's reactions.

The way she looked at her dad, I could tell she loved him, no matter how frustrated she may get. I had to tear my eyes away, and instead look out of the window.

Just like her dad was her childhood best friend, my dad was mine. And it hurt like hell to think about the lack of my father figure so long in my life.

Annabeth and Fredrick held a conversation for a while, mostly her dad speaking with Annabeth chiming in here and there. I stayed silent, observing the scene around me. I had flown into San Francisco once, and then drove Northwest to Lake Tahoe, for a skiing competition.

Now, however, we started driving South.

It was about sixty degrees out, in sharp contrast the below freezing temperatures in Aspen, Colorado. The bay was decorated with ships and fog covered the area, giving it a mystic feel.

Annabeth must have caught me looking outside, and she placed her hand on top of mine that was still situated on her knee. Her hand was warm.

"Yeah," she spoke to her dad, but while facing me. "It feels good to be home."

…

After driving for another 40 minutes in the classic Bay Area traffic, we pulled up at two story house. It was characterized by high, peaking roof tops, and a larch porch with stone walls surrounding the front. The front lawn was green, and it was refreshing to see landscaping that wasn't just the snow, as I was accustomed to.

We all filed out of the minivan, and I nearly groaned at the feeling on stretching my legs.

Being 6'5" and sitting in the back of a cramped car was not an ideal combination. I reached up and down, and cracked my back.

I noticed Annabeth looking at me with curiosity, and I wanted to flip her off, but decided to settle with sticking my tongue out at her, in fear of offending her parents.

No need to piss them off on day one of the journey by telling their only daughter to fuck herself…

At my childish antics, she threw her head back and laughed. I stared at her, and soaked up the beauty in the simple action, before walking towards where she was standing near the trunk of the car. I reached over her to open the back, and grabbed both of our bags.

She raised an eye at me, as if to say, " _try hard?"_ But still gave me another sweet smile.

Fredrick, who was watching the exchange, finally spoke. "Percy you can take those bags up to Annabeth's room. I take it you will be staying together?"

We briefly looked at each other, before Annabeth made the executive decision that I was too chicken to make.

"Of course, dad."

"Perfect honey," he said. "We remodeled the guest room into an office, so I'm glad that will work out perfectly. Follow me Percy."

I cast one fleeting glance over my shoulder at Annabeth, and followed Mr. Chase up the front steps into the house. The second I walked in, I recognized the Christmas decorations all over the spacious floor plan. A large tree, real evergreen, was situated in the center of the living room.

My admiring was cut short by Fredrick's voice. "I'm glad you're here Percy. Annabeth deserves someone."

As I was searching for words, I came up blank. I didn't know how to reply. I wanted to tell him that she truly did deserve someone amazing, but I would feel like a liar, even though I guess that's what I am.

Before I could come up with an answer, he opened the door to what I assumed was Annabeth's room, and said a fleeting, "make yourself comfortable" and walked back down the stairs that we just walked up.

Annabeth's room was designed and decorated in Annabeth fashion, would I could acutely recognize at this point in our relationship.

The walls were painted lavender, and the room was accented with grey. A king bed was placed in the corner near the window, and a bookshelf took up the majority of one of the other walls. She had a vanity with light that was turned off currently, but I imagined would be bright when plugged in. A door that led to the closet was near the other door that was for the adjacent bathroom.

"It's been a whole year since I've been in here," Annabeth said from behind me. I turned to face her. She had a nostalgic look in her grey angel eyes. "I don't know why they keep it the exact way I had it in high school. I only come back once a year."

She slowly moved from her place in the door way towards me. I stayed still, not wanted to change her train of thought, curious as to what she was going to say.

"My dad and I painted the walls together. I wonder if he remembers."

She came forward, and slowly wrapped her arms around my waist.

I went as still as a statue, but then slowly lifted my own arms, so that one went to the back of her head, feeling her soft curls, and the other to the small of her back. Her arms squeezed just a tad bit tighter at my movement to return the embrace.

"I'm so thankful for you Percy. It's been one day, and I already notice the difference in my own happiness," she whispered. After a second she added, in an even fainter tone, "I need you here."

My grip on the back of her head tightened, and I felt an overwhelming wave of protectiveness course through my veins. Her dad was right, Annabeth deserved someone, and even if it was just for a week and a half, that was me.

And I wasn't going to waste this opportunity to make her happy.

 _Or this opportunity to get to kiss her…_

She slowly pulled back from me, and I also reluctantly let go. "Ready to go meet Bobby and Fiona? Try not to drool too hard," she said.

"I'll try. No promises," I replied. But my eyes were locked on Annabeth.

 **A/N: Not super long, but two updates in a day. Thoughts on the story so far?**


	10. Kinky Stuff?

**Annabeth POV**

Why did Percy have to smell so God damn good?

Why did he have to be such a perfect gentleman?

Why did he have to make me feel so comfortable in his arms after just a day of knowing each other?

The questions were spinning in my head over and over as I stared at myself in the reflection of my bathroom mirror. I was braced over the sink, searching into my own eyes for answers, and coming up empty.

I thought back to my last serious boyfriend (not a fling): Luke. Strong, blonde, and comfortable. A childhood friend turned into a lover, out of pure familiarity. When he left to go to college, I was left feeling lonely and heartbroken.

I created a mental Venn diagram in my head, comparing and contrasting the two boys. Even though Percy wasn't my boyfriend, it felt only natural to contrast the opposite men.

Percy was tall, dark, fresh, and exciting. He wasn't afraid to speak his mind, and call me out when I was wrong, even though we were just testing out the waters with one another. He had a vibe around him that drew me towards him; that made me eager to peel back the so many layers that he hid behind.

My own thoughts alarmed me.

 _It's just a fake partnership Annabeth_ , I scolded myself, as it seemed I had to keep doing. _Don't overthink it._ But I couldn't help the one part of my brain that was fixated on Percy's ridiculously handsome face, complete with a smirk that revealed that one dimple.

My thoughts were so loud; I'm surprised Percy couldn't hear them through the bathroom door.

A knock on the bathroom door made me jump back from the mirror.

"Angle," his muffled voice seemed as if he was speaking through the crack that the door hinge made. I smiled to myself. Such a child. "Not to rush you or anything, but I'm too scared to go down and meet your family without you. And I can only browse through your impressive library of books for so long. Fifty Shades of Grey, eh?"

I watched my reaction in the mirror, as my face immediately turned red.

With a huff, I threw the door back, to reveal Percy's face, dangerously close to the door, holding a copy of said book. I snatched it out of his hand as he laughed.

"I didn't take you for a literature porn type of girl. You into kinky stuff?"

At this point I was ready to crawl into a hole and die from embarrassment, but instead of showing him how affected from his words I was, I just gave him a coy smile, took the book, and said, "Don't you want to know."

He raised both eyebrows at me, scoffed, and replied, "You amaze me more and more every minute Annabeth."

Once again, my face turned beet red, but I pushed passed him in the doorframe and went to place the book back on its spot on my bookshelf. I silently moved about the room, grabbing my contact lenses, and placing my glasses down on the bedside table. I slipped them into my eyes, slightly irritated by them, but grateful that I was able to see.

I moved over to my closet, and debated on whether or not I should take off Percy's jacket and put on one of my own.

Speaking of the devil, I glanced over at him, and found him laying on my bed, looking comfortable as ever as he watched me move about the room. I decided to be a mature adult, instead of a teenage girl infatuated with the smell of a boy, and took off his wind breaker. I formed in into a small ball and threw it at him.

Percy caught the ball of jacket with one hand and smirked at me. I watched his eyes briefly wander down my exposed top, and I pretended not to notice.

"Shut your eyes," I commanded.

"What?" He replied, confused with my sudden request.

"I am going to strip down. Close your eyes."

He made a dramatic gesture of squeezing his eyes shut, and I let out a small giggle at his antics. I turned my body so I was facing the closet, with my back to Percy.

I stripped off my tank top, leaving me in my sports' bra for a brief second, before I grabbed a tight quarter zip jacket, that I usually ran on cool mornings in, and slipped it over my head.

I adjusted the new top, and then turned to walk out of my bedroom door. When I reached the doorframe, I looked back at Percy, who had that same goofy smile on his face.

He hopped off of the bed, and walked through the door. As he passed me in the doorframe, he slowed down and whispered close to my ear, "Your back is sexy, Annabeth." He barely slowed down before continuing his trek down the stairs to my awaiting family.

I stood there, with my mouth open, gaping like a frog trying to catch flies.

Percy tossed a quick, "You coming Angel?" over his shoulder, before landing on the bottom step of the winding staircase.

After I came to my senses, I rushed down the stairs, with my head down, careful not to miss a step and trip. Instead I did the second most embarrassing thing, and ran straight into Percy's hard back, who for some unknown reason had stopped at the bottom of the staircase and blocked the exit.

I let out a small, unflattering grunt, and stumbled back, almost falling down.

Percy reached an arm out, and grabbed my own, and steadied me on my feet. "Be careful there," he mumbled before letting me go.

I shook my head at him, and looked up to see my entire family watching my almost disaster.

I cleared my throat before speaking, "Hey guys. So, Percy, this is my brother Bobby and his fiancé Fiona. Guys, this is my boyfriend Percy."

I expected the word boyfriend to sound foreign on my tongue, but instead it sounded strangely natural, especially with Percy's name following.

Percy stepped away from me, and shook Bobby's hand first, then Fiona's. Bobby was dressed in a crisp collared shirt, and his tan skin was taut back with a small smile. He was tall, but still a tad bit shorter than Percy, and I watched as he struggled to refrain from needed to tilt his chin up in order to keep eye contact. To him, that would be a sign of submissiveness, and Bobby was the furthest thing from a submissive man. They shared a brief but firm hand shake, with the exchange of the usual, "nice to meet you."

Fiona looked as intimidating as I remembered. She was tall, and the heeled knee high boots that she wore with her leggings and tight dress only added to her towering height. Her black hair was styled with large, loopy curls, the product from a curling iron, as opposed to my natural mane. Her makeup was perfectly applied, as I was greeted with a wave of envy at how flawless she looked. I watched as Percy then moved on to shake Fiona's hand, instead she surprised both Percy and I when she pulled him into a hug.

Just as my step-mom had done a few hours earlier, Fiona made eye contact with my over Percy's shoulder while embracing him, and mouthed the letters, "O M G."

I held back my laugh as I glanced over to Bobby to see if he noticed anything, but he was already engrossed with my father and Whitney in a conversation about the most recent election.

I looked back to Fiona, who let Percy go from the hug, and had a new-found respect for the model. I had never seen her be playful as she just was, and I was anxious to learn more about the woman who I refused to give a second glance at previous meetings, thinking she was a superficial model.

Percy wandered over to the fish tank that we had in our kitchen, and I whipped back around, pleasantly surprised to find her still standing by me, and not by her fiancé who was talking about his disappointment in the results of our presidential election.

"Hands off girlfriend. He's mine," I joked, hoping to find more character traits about Fiona that I would like.

She laughed, and even her laugh was beautiful. "Oh trust me, we all know that. His eyes haven't left your body from the second you both walked into the room. I'm just appreciating a fine-looking man when I see one," her eyes held a glint of amusement, and now it was my turn to laugh.

I subtly looked over to Percy, and we briefly made eye contact, before he turned back to the small talk that he must have been having with Whitney about the fish.

"Plus," Fiona added. I looked back at her. "Unlike your step-brother, I follow the celebrity gossip. I know that he was Percy Jackson, future Olympic skier, before you made any introductions."

At this my ears perked up. Fiona knew who Percy was? How big of a deal is he?

I had to mask my confusion, because any real girlfriend of Percy's would know that he was this famous, so that a model in San Francisco would know his name, but I made a mental note to google his name the second I was alone.

My father and Bobby walked back over to where Whitney and I were talking by the base of the staircase, near the lit Christmas tree.

"Hey honey," Bobby kissed Fiona on the cheek.

"Annabeth, dear, you mentioned how you still needed to finish your Christmas shopping. Since Matthew isn't here yet, maybe you could show Percy the city tonight, and finish your shopping, and then tomorrow we can start really getting acquainted with Percy," my dad suggested.

I nodded my head furiously. I hadn't bought any gifts at all yet, and the idea of saving Percy from the suffocating small talk sounded like a promising idea. Plus, putting off the family dinner and questioning could wait until tomorrow.

I was having one of the best days of my life, and ending it by showing Percy around San Francisco at night sounded like the perfect ending to my day.

Percy finally escaped Whitney's conversation and came back to my side. He wrapped an arm around my waist, must have been for the show to my parents, and spoke up, "That sounds like a fantastic plan, Mr. Chase."

My dad laughed a jolly laugh, slapped Percy on the back, and said, "Please, call me Fredrick, son."

I excused us both, we grabbed my dad's keys from the counter, and rushed out of the house.

 **A/N: Please leave a review with any comments you may have. It takes less than a minute, and will leave me smiling for an hour. Also, any type of review will lead me into writing faster, meaning more chapters for you! Are you excited for this week and a half at the Chase house?**


	11. One Bed Two Strangers

**Percy POV**

"Ouch," I exclaimed as Annabeth slapped at my hand that had been fiddling with the radio controls in her dad's car. I pulled it back, and held it against my chest, in mock pain. She slightly swerved the car, and I yelped again. "Two hands on the wheel!"

"Percy, you don't know any of the radio stations here. I don't want to keep listening to static fuzz, with the occasional discovery of some music in Spanish. Let me do it," Annabeth said, and she reached forward, and successfully changed the music into a coherent song, that I had never heard before, but sounded nice.

I watched the scenery pass out of my window as Annabeth took us out of the suburbs and into the city, before saying, "Where are you taking me Angel?" I turned to face her and await a response. Her eyes remained on the road, and I took this chance to stare.

"Everywhere is going to be crowded, the before Christmas buzz, but we are going to the mall, and then dinner…" Her sentence trailed off and she turned to look at me.

"Don't be so nervous to ask me on a date Annabeth. I leaned in closer to her. We are dating if I remember correctly," I joked.

She laughed at me, before returning her eyes to the road in front of her. "Fine," she said. "Dinner, and then we can go back to my parent's house, and go to bed, because in New York, it is already…" she looked at the clock on the car dash board, that said 4:47. "Almost 8, my bedtime."

I looked out my window once again, the sun was slowing starting to set already, and the reflection of the bar was bright and led me to turning my eyes away.

In hopes that Annabeth would tell me more about her life in New York, not just her one her in San Francisco, I asked, "Tell me about New York." I had been there multiple times to visit my mother, but I was interested in her take on her life there.

Her shoulders slumped down and she sighed. "Well, the city is great. Full of opportunity and so many people. I love Central Park, and I have a best friend, Piper, and her boyfriend, Jason, who take care of me."

Annabeth stopped talking, and I waited for her to follow up. "I take it there is a 'but' to this."

"But," she said, and looked at me with her grey angel eyes and a pointed look. "I just haven't seemed to be able to seize any of the opportunities that the city offers. I got this internship at a big architectural firm, but all I have been doing is getting coffee, despite the countless designs that I have tried to submit."

She merged on to the freeway, and kept talking. "And so I make no money, so I am stuck living in a place where I never feel really safe, and therefore go to bed at 8 most nights, to avoid my roommates." She tried to laugh this off, but I felt a slight twinge of alarm. She didn't feel safe in her own home?

"Why don't you quit the internship, and find a different job? With people who appreciate how brilliant you are. Or just get a job doing something else?" I hesitantly suggested. Annabeth didn't seem like the type of girl to stay in a shitty situation, so I'm sure she had valid reasoning to keep the internship for so long.

Her whole body immediately stiffened, and I realized I said something that upset her.

"I have to be an architect," she said, her voice defiant.

I had enough common sense to realize that our conversation was officially over. Instead of prying for more information, I turned my focus back to my window. I realized that we were nearing the big city aspect of San Francisco. Annabeth hag exited the freeway and pulled into a parking garage.

"I am going to drill you with questions later about your life, Percy," Annabeth surprised me. She put her car in park and faced me. "Don't think you can just get off the hook like that."

I let out a laugh, and she smiled in return, before turning and opening her car door. She gracefully hopped out and slammed the door. I stared at the spot she just was, with a wide, goofy smile etched on my face. My cheeks began to hurt, and I realized they would be sore soon from all of the smiling I would be doing on this trip.

I knock on my window startled me, and I turned to Annabeth, her hair now in a high pony tail giving me a look that seemed to say, 'hurry the fuck up.'

…

The second that we walked into the shopping mall, I was hit in the face with a slap that seemed to say 'CHRISTMAS IS HERE.' An intricately decorated tree reached the ceiling of the two story. A man was dressed as Santa, with a crying child placed on his lap, as the mother tried to snap a quick photo. Ladies dressed as elves tried to beckon us to take a photo, for only ten dollars, but we politely shook our heads.

The song, 'Santa Clause is coming to town' echoed through the room, and bustling shoppers were bumping into one another as they rushed from store to store.

I was a tad bit overwhelmed, and mumbled that as my excuse as I took Annabeth's hand, and entwined our fingers. "You don't want to lose me in here," I said as I gave her a cheeky grin.

She shook her head with a small laugh, but tightened her hand in mine nonetheless. Annabeth dragged me into a store, and immediately got to work.

"Okay, so I have a grand total of zero gifts, and I am going to need," she trailed off as she added the total number of people in her head. "Seven gifts."

"Annabeth, I'm no mathematician, but you're going to need six gifts, and I bet you could shorten it to three, and shop by immediate family," I said.

"Percy, you went across the country for me. I think you deserve a Christmas present," she replied.

An alarm went off in my head.

"No way in hell am I letting you get me a gift. How about we tell your parents we exchanged gifts in private, and we just give endless love to each other," I made my voice as high pitched as possible as my sentence went on. Hopefully Annabeth would find the humor, and also agree to my request.

She laughed, and nodded her head at the same time. Two points for Percy.

Even though we had come to this agreement, it didn't stop me from keeping my eye open for gifts that screamed 'Annabeth' to me as we went from store to store, and Annabeth picked out various items.

…

Three hours and five bags full of presents later, Annabeth was finally satisfied with the gifts that she found for her pretentious family members.

"If we don't get food soon, my stomach is going is going to start eating away at itself. And a dead boyfriend is not one that you want to take home," I repeated my hunger to Annabeth for the fifth time. I carried three of the bags for her.

"Percy," she swung her free arm and hit me on the chest.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed.

"I have told you a million times. We are going to eat right now," Annabeth let out a huff. I could tell she was just as tired as I was, so I made the effort to halt my comments.

I made a dramatic gesture of zipping my mouth shut, and followed her to set the bags in the car, that was parked in the parking garage.

"How does pizza sound?" She asked.

I almost moaned at the idea of a greasy pizza.

We silently hopped in the car, and Annabeth took us to the nearest pizza place. It was a small, local joint, complete with dim lights, arcade games, and a pool table.

I opened the door for Annabeth, who ducked under my arm and into the restaurant. The aroma drifted through the restaurant, as Annabeth slid into the seat of one of the open booths.

I slid in across from her, and opened up the menu. I peeked over at her from the top of my menu. She looked up, and I quickly averted my eyes back to my menu, pretending like I was reading it the whole time. Slowly, I raised my eyes to look at Annabeth once again.

The dim lighting cast shadows on her face, that seemed to make her have an even more enticing look. Her hand kept rising up and tugging on the end of her pony tail. As her tongue slowly licked her bottom lip, I had to force my eyes to return to my menu.

Annabeth had the looks of a siren, tempting me in, but too dangerous to get close to.

"I want a lot of pepperoni pizza. Is that okay with you?" She asked.

I gave her a smirk. "That sounds absolutely perfect Angel."

We ordered a large pepperoni, and two beers.

The pizza came, and so did our laughs, and conversation flow. I found myself telling Annabeth small tidbits of my family (she was very interested in my younger half siblings), of my childhood, and even of my past days skiing, which was still a hard subject to talk about.

When the topic of my ribs came up, I raised my shirt, and stared at the black brace around my torso, desperately wishing to be free of its tight grasp. I had been wearing it for three weeks straight, and although the doctor said two months, I decided it was coming off tonight.

The talk of my deceased father, or her real mother never came to be spoken about. Instead, only matters that were followed my laughs and more jokes.

Time seemed to fly by, and before I even realized it, it was nearing nine o'clock, and Annabeth's eyes were fluttering shut in between each sentence.

"Let's go home Angel," I said, after I placed down 40 dollars for the meal and drinks.

"Oh no Percy. You're on a trip with me, I am paying."

"Nope," I quickly replied. I wrapped an arm around her waist, and nearly dragged her from the restaurant back to our car that we had been using. This time though, I hopped in the driver's side, after securing Annabeth's spot in the passenger seat.

"I'm going to need directions home Angel," I said as I buckled my seatbelt.

After a near silent car ride back to Annabeth's parents' house, complete with faint Christmas music and Annabeth nearly dozing off in between giving me directions.

After pulling into the garage, and trudging up the stairs, with Annabeth's hand in mine, we opened her bedroom door, and I came to a realization.

One bed. Two strangers, with a complicated relationship.

Annabeth grabbed what must have been her pajamas, as I debated in my head as to what I should do. Ask for blankets to make a bed on the floor? Sleep on the couch and worry about her family seeing me? Dare to sleep in the same bed as her?

Annabeth opened the bathroom door, and came out, wearing her glasses once again, and a pair of black sweatpants and a tank top.

 _God damn. She was sexy even in sleeping attire._

"Oh shit Percy," she said. "Let me get some blankets and I will sleep on the floor. Make yourself comfortable on the bed." She turned on her heel, presumably to get blankets.

"Angel!" I yelled out to get her attention, and flinched at how loud my voice was. The next statement came out in a much quieter tone. "No way in hell you are sleeping on the floor." I paused and carefully thought out my next question.

"How about we just share the bed? Put a pillow between us and everything."

 **A/N: Leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter! Again, I barely reread my chapters after writing them, much less conduct any editing. If there are typos or grammatical errors, I'm sorry!**


	12. Wikipedia Page?

**Annabeth POV**

I woke up slowly. The way that you wake up when you have an amazing night's sleep, and good dreams to go along with the deep slumber. My eyes remained closed as my mind leisurely came back to life.

I rolled over in my king bed, with my eyes still shut, enjoying the warmth from the expensive sheets, as compared with my itchy ones back in New York.

When I hit a hard object next to me, I froze, and my eyes shot open faster than a bullet. Slowly, careful not to move too much, I peered over to the other side of the bed.

Despite my best efforts to stop it, a smile came to my face as I viewed the scene in front of me.

The sun was peeking through my window, and lit up Percy's tan skin, making him glow. His face has no blemishes on it, and I wondered if he ever had a pimple in his life. His eyebrows were thick, and nicely sculpted, and he had lashes that would put my own to shame. They touched his cheek as his eyes remained closed.

The comforter on my bed was low on his body, and reveled his bare chest, that should have been encased in his rib brace, but he took it off before bed last night.

His body was lean and defined, and starkly resembled the athlete that I knew he was. I could see the top of the bruised section of his ribs, but the blankets covered the rest of the injury that I was beginning to realize the severity of. The bruise was a dark purple, laced with yellow and blue, and seemed to scream 'pain' at me. I could only imagine how Percy felt.

The events of last night slowly came flooding back to me. I remembered being so tired, and ready to go to bed, and hastily agreeing to share the bed with Percy, thinking nothing of it. I remembered him taking his shirt and rib brace off, and examining his bruises silently in the mirror. I remembered wanting so badly to help him fight his demons, but instead staying silent from my place on the bed.

When he finally came, and joined me in the bed, instead of placing a pillow between us like he had earlier suggested, I did the complete opposite, and moved closer to him, not quite touching, but if one of us moved even the slightest, we would brush each other. Percy recognized my gesture of comfort, and relaxed into the bed.

And let's just say, when I was 'asleep' I would move even closer to him.

After a solid minute of staring at Percy, as he slept soundly, occasionally letting out a deep breath that almost resembled a snore, I realized that my teeth were in dire need of some toothpaste and mouthwash.

Careful not to shake the bed too much and wake Percy, I lifted myself out of it, and trudged over to the bathroom.

I mentally debated if I should shower, and after remembering the airport grease that was currently occupying my hair, I made the wise decision to turn on the water, and quickly undress.

Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in skinny jeans and a sweater, and had my wet curls up in a towel, in hopes to dry them. After peeking out of the foggy bathroom, and into my old bedroom, I was pleased to see Percy still fast asleep in my bed.

I was glad that he was asleep, because any excuse to stay cooped up in my room and not down mingling with the rest of the family was one I was glad to take. I usually tried to keep my interactions with them all limited to meals and 'bonding' events.

Matthew and his girlfriend, Sarah, would also be joining us today, which added to the uncomfortableness that I usually felt. I was suddenly dreading dinner, where my dad and step-mom would ask Bobby how work was, and Matthew about his recent patients, and then their eyes would scan over me, before asking Fiona about her latest photoshoot, and Sarah about the baby.

Hopefully they would ask Percy questions about himself, to fill the silence that would come from me.

Remembering my conversation with Fiona yesterday, I stealthily crept out of the bathroom, grabbed my MacBook from my backpack that was leaning against my closet, and sat down at the vanity. I took the towel off of my head, and shook out my damp, blond curls.

I peeked over my shoulder, suddenly paranoid that Percy would wake up, and judge me for what I was about to do. After the computer came to life, I Googled, 'Percy Jackson' and took a deep breath before pressing the enter key.

I was immediately greeted with a picture of said skier, with his goggles on his helmet, and a huge grin across his lips. He was looking off into the distance, and seemed to be laughing at something somebody was saying. Next to the picture was a brief description with his age, height, and family members.

 _Damn_ , I thought _. He has a Wikipedia page._

My grey eyes skimmed through this information that I already knew, from our earlier twenty questions game on the airplane. Born and raised in Aspen, Colorado. Twenty-four years old. Sponsored by big name brands. Many victories at skiing competitions.

I closed out of that tab, and opened a new one, titled, 'Percy Jackson Crash: Caught on Film."

With one more glance at the sleeping man in my bed, I opened the video, and watched as someone, presumably a bystander, filmed. The camera was shaky, and It was hard to see the details, but even without my contacts in yet, I could see a figure, Percy, going off of the jump, and landing on his side, hard. I cringed, and squeezed my eyes shut.

I scrolled down on the laptop a little bit more, to read more about the accident and its consequences. Apparently, he was on track like nobody had ever seen before. He was quickly setting records and on his way to earning a spot on the next winter Olympic team.

The next comment on the video expressed the viewer's hopes that Percy would come back from the injury, but another comment explained that he would never be the same skier, especially after failing in the peak of his career.

I suddenly slammed the laptop shut, feeling as though I was invading his privacy. I leaned back into the chair, as sympathy for this man coursed through my veins.

"Angel, if you wanted to know anything about me, you could have just asked," a raspy voice spoke from the bed.

I whipped my head around and was greeted with the sight of Percy, leaning on one arm, staring at me, his eyes flickering back to the laptop that I had just closed. His full torso was exposed, allowing me to gawk at not only his defined chest, but the severity of the bruise.

I stuttered as I tried to find the words to explain myself. "I… I was just…. I mean…."

He cut me off. His eyes were tinged with sadness, but thankfully no anger, despite the guilt that I felt.

"It's okay, Annabeth. It's probably about time I looked on the blogs to see what people are saying about me."

"You're not mad at me," I asked, in a timid voice. He let out a small smile, and shook his head, causing his hair to fall into his eyes. I wanted to play with it, once again.

"You didn't do anything wrong, unless you were posting mean things about me?" His voice trailed off at the end, signaling his weak attempt at a joke.

I let out a laughed, as I struggled to maintain eye contact, and not let me eyes drift any lower than his neck.

Silence filled the room, and I wanted to ask questions about his accident, and my newfound information, but I didn't know if that would be digger the knife in further. There seemed to be an elephant in the room, that I desperately wished to be gone.

Percy slowly raised himself from the bed, and it creaked underneath him. I stayed still as he quickly and quietly came over to me, until he was leaning over my shoulder.

"I want to watch it," he spoke softly.

I looked back at him, and after seeing his face so close to my own, I quickly turned back and pulled open the laptop, and pressed play on the video. I stayed still as a statue, careful not to move and hit Percy, who was so close to me.

When the video came to a stop he said, "I knew I shouldn't have attempted that without my coach. I already had a perfect routine that would have secured me a gold at the X-Games and probably a spot on the Olympic Team when the trails come."

I slowly turned my whole body over my shoulder, so I could look him in the eyes. His ever-changing eyes were misted over, as though he was stuck in a memory.

With a brief flash of courage, I raised my hand up, despite its shakiness, and cupped his cheek, that was wearing a very fine layer of stubble that I imagined he would shave later. I leaned my head closer to his, close enough where I could rest my own forehead on his.

"I think that you are going to come back," I whispered, careful not to break the intimacy of our moment. "Better than before."

 _And I want to help you do it_ , I wanted to add, but realized the implications of my words, and held them back.

He held my eye contact, and I felt him lean into my touch. "You know, Angel? I had my doubts, but I think it could happen."

I smiled at him, and enjoyed this moment. It felt like the calm before the storm.

I was suddenly aware of the fact that my entire family was outside of my bedroom, and this wasn't some personal safe-haven although it felt that way. It was almost noon, and we were expected to spend time with the rest of my family waiting downstairs.

He slowly stood up, and once he was standing, he bent back down to where I was sitting on the stool, and placed a slow kiss to the top of my head, before turning sharping on his heel and walking into the bathroom, presumably to shower.

I had a goofy smile on my face as I yelled, "Percy! Can I put your hair in a bun?"

He stuck his head out of the bathroom door that he was beginning to shut, gave me a laugh, and said, "Of course." And he shut the door behind him.

I looked at my hands, to see that they were still slightly shaking, and came to the realization that I had a big, fat crush on Percy Jackson. Not just the 'he's so cute' feeling. Or the 'I want to marry him' feeling.

I had real, legitimate feelings for my fake boyfriend.

 _What did I get myself into…?_

 **A/N: Hello all. I hope you enjoyed this, and can see the blurring lines between Percy and Annabeth's relationship/ friendship. It is only going to escalate from here, and I am super excited to share all of my ideas with you. Once again, this is not edited.**

 **Leave a review with any comments you may have!**


	13. Defiance

**Percy POV**

Once safely behind the bathroom door and out of Annabeth's piercing stare, I let out a deep breath through my nose.

When I woke up and saw her hunched over her computer, watching that crash that sent me into a minor state of depression for days, even weeks, I should have been angry that she didn't trust me, or needed to be sneaky instead of asking me anything.

Instead I go and stand close enough to smell her freshly shampooed hair and watch the video for myself, and relive that accident. While watching, I critiqued each and every flaw, and had the consistent thought of, "You're an idiot." When Annabeth suggested I go for the comeback, I agreed although my brain was screaming no.

Now, alone in the bathroom I had time to gather my thoughts, without a certain blonde angel affecting the way I think, making my thoughts turn to blubber. A shower seemed like the perfect place to think.

 _A cold one at that…_

After a shower that was borderline too long, my mind (and body) was free of Annabeth, and I was ready to take on this family dinner. After I peeked out of the bathroom door, I saw no sign of Annabeth, and stepped into the bedroom to change, and make the dreaded phone call to my mom and Paul.

I had suspicion that they had heard the news of my accident by now, but I hadn't returned any of their calls since they realized I didn't show up at their door in New York. I stared at the blank screen of my phone, and my reflection peered back at me. I could see the hesitation in my own eyes.

Taking advantage of the moment alone, I knew this was as good a time as ever to just call them. With a second of courage, I dialed the apartment home number.

The phone rang and rang and my heartbeat increased to the point I could hear it echoing back at me.

"Hello this is the Jackson-Blofis Household. We can't come to the phone right now, so leave a message!" A recording of my mother's high pitched, sweet voice spoke to me, and I let out a breath. A voicemail was easier to face than reality.

"Hey mom and Paul," I stuttered out after the beep. "Uh, so I bet you're pretty confused on why I didn't show up in a yellow taxi yesterday. Maybe pretty angry. And Im sorry. I know this is last minute."

I paused and carefully considered my next words. Do I tell them the truth about where I am and who I'm with?

Instead I took the easy route and said, "I should have told you earlier, but I am with my girlfriend Annabeth and her family. In San Francisco." I had a feeling that the recording was going to cut off soon, so I rushed out, "So I promise I will call soon and tell you everything. I mean everything. Tell the kids I say hi. Love you bye!"

I knew my mom was going to briefly set aside her anger and freak out at the fact that I had a 'girlfriend', which would make it even harder when I would have to tell her we 'broke up.' She would want Annabeth and I to head straight to New York and visit, and I would have to say no.

 _Why did the sound so heartbreaking already?_

"Percy!" I heard Annabeth's voice from far away, presumably downstairs. I walked over to look down at her from the staircase.

She held up a note with a scowl on her face. "They all went out to the store. They didn't even invite me," the second statement came out in a softer voice, and I hurried down the stairs, with the goal to shift her focus, before she was upset.

"It's because you were too busy Googling me on your computer Angel," I said with a wink as I approached her.

I think I effectively lightened her spirits, because she gave me a slight smile, which made me feel the same way one shot of vodka usually made me feel. I shook my head, to rid my head of those types of thoughts. No more thinking of Annabeth like that, like she was my own type of drug.

I saw a furry creature sitting in a ball near the fireplace, and I said, "Annabeth! You never told me you have a cat!"

She eyed me with the small smile still on her face. "Is that an issue Percy?"

"Well," I stuttered. "I am more of a dog person. To be honest with you cats actually scare the shit out of me."

She laughed at me and moved over towards the creature, that seemed to be enjoying a nap in the warmth. I watched her body move from behind, and admired the way her jeans held snug. Annabeth was making me drool without even realizing it.

"Big bad Percy Jackson. Can flip his body three times on skis, but won't touch a fuzzy ball of love?"

It was my turn to laugh. "No. I just prefer not to touch them. They scratch. Dogs are the real lovers. I have a great dane at home named Blackjack. I miss my buddy."

Blackjack was a massive dog, who doubled as my closest companion. He was staying at Grover's cabin over Christmas, so he was in somewhat good hands, but I still worried about the possibilities of Grover forgetting to feed him.

Annabeth spoke, "Okay but Oscar here is part dog I swear."

I laughed and gave her a funny look, but still walked closer to her and the purring cat.

"No I swear," she looked up as I neared her and locked her eyes with my own. "He goes outside through a little doggy door and he thinks he is a dog."

By now I was at her side, leaning over her shoulder, peering at her hand rubbing the cat.

I decided this was my new favorite place to stand. I could smell her hair, and could just barely feel her butt brushing up against me.

To act like I had a reason for standing here, besides the fact that I was a pervert, I reached my hand out to rub the cat, and I was greeted with soft fur.

At the very moment, the front door opened, and the four missing household guests walked in with bags in their hands. It effectively ruined the mood, and I jumped back from Annabeth, but then realized how dumb that was; they thought we were dating.

"Oh hey honey," Annabeth's stepmother spoke. Both Annabeth and I started to walk towards them to help put away the groceries. "We got dinner fixin's. How do ribs sound? Early dinner then a movie? Sounds great. Percy we can get to know you better and Bobby you can talk about work. Matthew should be here in 15 minutes. Fredrick, dear, start the BBQ the men can be in charge of the meat." Her mouth ran a mile a minute and I struggled to keep up with her train of thought.

I glanced down to see Annabeth, looking like she wanted to say something, and I could tell it wasn't what Whitney wanted to hear, so Annabeth hesitated.

"Whitney," she said. "I could BBQ the meat."

Her step-mom gave her a funny look. "That's the men's job hun."

"No," Annabeth's voice gained some volume and my heart swelled with pride. I could tell this little act of defiance look a lot of courage from her. She continued, "It's just a person job. And I want to do it so everyone else can watch the football games."

Whitney shook her head, but moved onward in the kitchen, presumably to start preparing potatoes or a salad. Fiona, Bobby's fiancé, passed by where Annabeth and I were standing and whispered in a tone so faint I could barely hear her, "Power to the mother fucking women."

I laughed, but covered it up, as to not draw attention to us.

Annabeth looked to Fiona with more appreciation.

After Whitney and Fiona were in conversation in the kitchen, and Bobby and Fredrick were sitting on the couch, Annabeth's small, but defined arm snaked around my waist, and she leaned her head into my shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her dad eyeing us.

"Why did I open my mouth, before dinner on the second night has even started?" She asked in a timid voice.

I reached my own arm over her shoulders, and held her in a half hug. "It's going to be okay, Angel. Go cook the meat." I winked at her and she laughed, and slithered out of my embrace.

I watched her grab the racks of ribs, open the sliding door, refusing help from Whitney in defiance, and setting out to cook the ribs.

Dinner was going to be a wild ride.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoy chapter 12! A review asked if I have a schedule for updates, and the answer is no, I just type in my free time, which isn't often, and update as soon as the chapters are done! Most weeks you can expect 2 updates, but sometimes life will catch up to me and I apologize for that.**

 **This chapter was somewhat bland, but hopefully you still enjoyed it! Leave a review with your favorite Percabeth moment in Decoy thus far! They are subtle, but there are lots of them ;) Kiss coming soon!**


	14. Rib Sauce

Chapter 13

 **Annabeth POV**

From the spot I was standing on the deck, I could see the sun slowing dropping behind the city scene, the water in the pool and hot tub glinting with reflection. I could see the neighrboor's tree house, that had been there since I was eight years old. The familiarity of the scene was alarming and peaceful, all at once.

The smell of ribs wafted up in clouds of smoke as I lifted the BBQ lid to check on the slowly cooking meat. My eyes flittered back and forth in between the charred meat, and the scene inside the window.

Percy had taken a seat on the couch, next to my father, and was engrossed in the football game. The fact that he seemed to share a love for college football made me giggle a little.

My dad would occasionally turn and say something, presumably about the game, to which Percy would nod or laugh, and reply with a short phrase.

I was ready to burst in and save Percy from any in-depth questioning, especially if I wasn't there. I had a gut feeling my father was teeming with questions to ask Percy.

To my luck, the conversation inside seemed to remain on the current football game, or other passing, frivolous matters.

My palms, usually clammy, were started to sweat just thinking about the addition of Matthew, Sarah, and the soon to be baby. I knew how excited Whitney and my dad would be, and knowing that I was going to live up to the expectation of producing a beautiful grandbaby was a slight jab to my gut.

 _Just breath…_ I told myself. As I did some meditative breathing.

 _Everything has been fine so far…._

With one final exhale through my mouth, I plastered on a huge smile. Fake it til' you make it, am I right?

With my right arm holding the tray of ribs, I expertly pushed open the sliding glass door, and Whitney simultaneously said "Oh Matthew and Sarah are here!"

She pushed past me, almost knocking her tray of expensive meat down, and rushed to greet the golden couple at the front door. Everyone else in the room followed, but at a much slower pace.

Percy, instead of following the others, came to my side and wordlessly took the tray, which was beginning to burn my arm, and set it down on the counter. I looked up his tall frame, and hoped to convey my appreciation with my eyes.

He reached down and entwined our fingers, and I prayed to every god that I had ever learned about that my hands were overly sweaty.

My heart warmed at his simple gesture, but then my family members walked into the kitchen area, and I came face to reality and realized that him taking my hand was purely for show. He didn't actually want to touch me.

Ignoring the disappointment that seemed to resettle in the pit of my stomach whenever I realized that Percy wasn't actually my boyfriend, and ignoring the slight squeeze that he gave my hand, dismissing it as an accident, I walked forwards towards the new additions to the already full household.

Matthew was like a carbon copy of Whitney, except a boy. He was the ideal young doctor. Cleanly shaven, blonde hair trimmed to perfection, perfect upright posture.

I almost laughed aloud when Percy leaned down and whispered, "He is the complete opposite of me." His warm breath tickled my skin, and goosebumps appeared on my arms.

In response, I bumped him with my shoulder and gave him a scolding glance.

Once I made eye contact with the doctor in the room, I broke my contact with Percy, and approached my step-brother. He gave me the fake doctor smile, and then a fake, stiff doctor hug.

I tried not to cringe as he patted my back.

Percy then stepped forward and introduced himself, and I turned towards the expecting mother. Sarah gave me a clipped smile, and small talk flitted across the room. The weather and travel was mentioned, and fake laughs were exchanged.

Whitney's screech broke apart the noise. "Time to eat everyone take a seat."

I came to the realization that I hadn't had a meal all day, and was eager to stuff my mouth with food and hopefully ignore the jabs of jealously that would course through my veins when my parents would congratulate Bobby and Matthew on all of their achievements, and just happen to forget they raised a daughter too.

I set my hand on Percy's bicep, subtly appreciating the muscle definition, and led him to a spot on the corner of the long dining table.

After everyone, all eight of us, were situated around the table, the dinner was passed around.

"Can you pass me the salad?"

"Is that my fork?"

"Oh this looks great!"

"Boy am I hungry."

"Anyone want more biscuits?"

The preliminary talk descended around the table, and it felt like the calm before the storm.

As I bit into the rib, I sank back into my chair in pure joy. It felt so good to be eating real dinner, not ramen noodles or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"So Matthew," my dad started, "How is the residency coming along?"

"Oh Fredrick it is phenomenal…" His voice trailed off and my attention drifted to the flavor in the potatoes, and then to Matthew's shirt, which was ironed to a crisp, without a flaw. Then to Fiona, who was seated next to Bobby, her hand on the table, flaunting her huge rock on her finger.

Then to Percy, who had rib sauce covering his cheeks, and was devouring rib after rib.

I laughed into my napkin, and then realized how out of place the two of us must look next to the perfection of the rest of the room.

I took my white cloth napkin and reached up to wipe his face, as the conversation about the hospital, and the baby, and the modeling was in the background.

Nobody seemed to notice as Percy and I laughed out loud as I struggled to clean his face, my white napkin becoming covered with BBQ sauce stains. It was if we were in our own little world of innocence, and my heart soared with the realization that I have never had someone to share these moments with before, and now I had Percy.

He was grinning, and his dimples showed. I had one hand on his thigh, and the other was wiping his face, even though he dodged my attempts.

"Percy, what do you do for a living?" Matthew spoke out, and I thought I detected a hint of smugness in his voice, but it was so faint I questioned if it was even there.

The whole table turned to face us, and I froze, my hand on his thigh, leaning on his body at the dinner table.

After I recovered from shock, I settled back into my own seat and cleared my throat. Percy did the same and after a tentative glance at myself, and a nod in affirmation, he said, "I'm a professional skier. Well, used to be one anyway." He chuckled at the end.

Shock was evident on the faces of every person at the table, except for Fiona, who had already recognized the hot, young professional skier.

Percy must have realized that the mood of the table had shifted to one of bewilderment, and he added, "I am sponsored by some pretty big names, and have a lot of really unique opportunities."

I reached over to grab his hand, sensing the fact that he was feeling embarrassed and out of place.

To my astonishment, Fiona spoke up, "Percy is kind of a big deal." And she winked.

Both Percy and I let out nervous laughs, and then thankfully my father added, "Well that is fascinating Percy. Tell us more about it."

My dad caught my eye, and his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, held a glint in them that reminded me of the old days. When he would beat me in chess. When he would teach me a new history lesson about some far-off country. When he would review on how to build a fire.

His eyes seemed to say, "I'm intrigued."

And that was a look that I hadn't gotten from him or Whitney since I left the house and visited on holidays. So, I counted that as a major success.

Percy began to tell of how he lived in Aspen, Colorado, and we met in New York when he was visiting his parents, and he even included the anecdote of me buying him a drink, and he told of his sponsorship deals from Red Bull and other big names. While still holding Percy's hand, I looked around the table. I was delighted to see everyone listening to what my fake boyfriend had to say with surprise, but also intrigue.

It was more attention than I had gotten in years, and instead of feeling jealous of the fact that he had taken the spotlight, I was grateful that he had given me just a slight slimmer of respect from my parents.

Matthew, with his hand on Sarah's large belly, interrupted Percy's explanation on his travel that he has done for filming ski videos, and said, "Oh mom! Fredrick! The baby is kicking, come feel it."

Whitney's chair pushed back and made a loud noise as she stood to go feel like slight kick, and the attention of the dinner table was shifted back to Matthew as quick as the blink of an eye, but when Percy squeezed my hand and used his other hand to gently grab my chin so I would look up and meet his sea green eyes, all I felt was comfort.

This feeling was so foreign; I almost didn't know how to accept it. I was at a family dinner, and purely because of Percy, I didn't feel like such an outsider. It was like Percy was the glue that was holding me together, and I wasn't quite sure how I would function when the glue was suddenly gone….

Because whether I wanted to admit it or not, dating Percy had an expiration date.

As we began to clear the table, and turn on the Christmas movie in the living room, I held tight to his hand, as if he would disappear if I let go.

 **A/N: I am so sorry! I know it has been almost three weeks, but I realized writing is a lot easier during winter break, and not quite as easy now, but I am trying my very hardest. Leave me a review, and I promise I will write faster! Again, sorry for any mistakes!**


	15. Approval?

**Percy POV**

"Can I help you with the dishes Mrs. Chase?" I asked as the rest of the family was beginning to settle down in the living room.

Her head turned towards me, her long hair nearly whipping me in the face. I subtly took a step back.

"Honey, pretty please just call me Whitney. We are all adults here," she said while handing me a Christmas themed dish towel.

I let out a small, somewhat forced laugh, and took the rag from her hands, and hoped that I could think of some conversational topics, so the chore session wasn't composed of awkward silence and running water. What do wealthy, middle aged woman like to talk about? Yoga? Any book clubs?

As my brain was running rampant searching for new ideas that weren't going to sound as desperate and forced out loud, she spoke up. "So, Percy, you ski for a living?"

It wasn't what I was expecting her to ask, and I noted the hint of condescending tone, so I was cautious of my next words. "Well, yes, I guess you could say skiing is what I do with my life…" I trailed off, hoping she would stop her questioning before it got even more uncomfortable.

Whitney was persistent, and followed her previous question with another. "So is that a steady job?"

I was at a loss for words at this point, and opened my mouth to retort back, but then realized that the truth of the matter was that skiing _wasn't_ a steady job. One fall later and I suddenly lost all of my major sponsorships, and my chance to prove myself for more.

Annabeth's stepmother, who was finally showing her true colors, spoke up again before I could compose myself to answer. "What do you make a year? Because both Bobby and Matthew are already making over 6 figures a year, and I would only hope that the trend continues."

I bit my tongue so hard I thought blood was going to come out, and held back any comments I could think of, for fear that I would be kicked out of the house.

Whitney didn't seem to sense that anything she said had any fault, and she continued washing the dishes and handing them to me to dry. As I was contemplating throwing a salad bowel at her head, Whitney had the nerve to continue her questioning.

"And so what do you see in Annabeth?" At this question, she slowly turned away from the sink, and faced me. Her calculated eyes scanning my own, which I'm sure reflected a deer in the headlights look.

It wasn't the question that bothered me. It was a simple, polite enough question, normal for a worried parent to ask the new boyfriend. But Whitney didn't intend to be a concerned parent. The question seemed to say, why would you be dating _her…_ It was laced with judgement and a hint of disgust.

I'm not sure if it was the questioning, or the way she looked at me with one perfect drawn on eyebrow, but I lost all of the self-control I had been trying to utilize, and my anger left my body like a runner on the starting line.

"Listen, with all due respect, I understand that Annabeth is different than your sons, and may not make 6 figures a year, but if you can't see the special qualities that I can, then I am sorry, because you are surly missing out. I shouldn't have to explain why Annabeth is so great, because if you were a true mother figure in her life, you would already see the qualities that I am learning to love," I took a deep breath, calmly set down the knife I had been drying off, and turned to walk away, without looking to see the impact of my reckless words on Whitney.

As I was leaving the kitchen, I remembered another point. "I ski because it makes me happy. And that is more valuable than any type of monetary value or benefits that sitting in a cubicle from 8-5 is going to reward me with."

My legs led me up the stairs, and into the only other room I had been in the large, family house. I closed the door behind me, and sunk into the bed that Annabeth and I had shared the night before.

I leaned my elbows on my thighs and then put my head in my hands, running my fingers through my raven locks.

What is my problem? All I had to do was hold the pretty girl's hand, and get to eat home cooked meals and tour San Francisco for a week. All I had to do was be the perfect boyfriend that every family wants to meet. All I had to do was play a charade, and reap the benefits of it.

Instead, I develop feelings that run deeper than a crush for my fake girlfriend, I open my mouth and disrespect her step-mother, and I will probably end up getting myself kicked out of the house.

Great going Percy…

I kept myself hunched over my knees, leaning on the side of the bed, waiting for someone to break the news to me that I was kicked out of the house. My hands kept pulling on my long hair, styling it in a messy sense that seemed to reflect my life.

When I heard the knock on the door, my heart dropped to the bottom on my chest, and I was prepared to face a mob of angry Chase family members, ready to run me off of their property because I had upset the queen bee of the colony.

Instead I was surprised to see Annabeth's angelic face peep though the crack. Her hair was now in a braid, with loose curls framing her face. The light caught on her face, casting shadows that made her seem mysterious and enchanting.

These feelings _definitely_ ran deeper than a crush…

"Perce," she asked in a soft voice, and my heart did a cork 900, a move I had perfected on the mountain. "We are about to start the movie, and I don't want to 5th wheel at the couple fest out there like I usually have to."

She extended he hand out to me, and my face must have reflected confusion, as I tentatively reached up to grab her dainty fingers.

"Whitney told me you came up here to grab your phone or something. You must have wooed her over with your charm, because she told me that you're a keeper, and I've never heard her say that she approves of anything in my life," she winked and used some impressive strength to pull me up.

I scrunched my eyebrows together, trying to figure out what kind of sick joke Whitney was playing on me, or if maybe I was dreaming. Last time I checked I said some nasty things to her step-mom, and gave her no reason to 'approve of me.'

Annabeth laughed at me, and spoke again, "Percy are you okay? This is the quietest you've been since I met you."

I snapped out of my daze, and realized that it's not very often you have a goddess of a women holding her hand, inviting you to go watch a movie. And when these opportunities present themselves, you seize them.

"Sorry Angel, did you miss my charming remarks?" I smirked at her.

She bumped me with her shoulder and flashed a flirty smile. "I think I like when you're confused and silent. Can you go back to that Percy?"

I leaned closer to her face, and could smell her shampoo, once again. "Well, I am not shutting up anytime soon."

She slowly raised on to her toes, and I bent my neck down, so our faces were mere inches apart. I admired to boldness of her grey eyes, and the fullness of her lips.

I watched her lips, and she whispered, "We will see about that."

Just as I had closed my eyes with the intent of kissing her, a voice shouted up the stairs.

"Hey love birds! We are waiting!"

I jumped away from Annabeth, cursing her family for interrupting us once again.

Just as I had gathered the courage to kiss the blonde angel, they had to shut me down.

I don't know what it was about Annabeth that is so intimidating. I had kissed many, many girls in the past. Hookups come easy when your life is a constant cycle of ski, then party, the repeat the next morning. Get beyond wasted, take random, wiling girls back into my condo, and then attempt to ski off the hangover the next morning. And that is the exact lifestyle that I had lived up until last year, when I had focused all of my energy on getting the gold, until the dreaded accident of course.

Annabeth took control of the situation, grabbed my hand, and led me down the stairs. I wondered how she was able to compose herself in the matter of seconds, while my heart was still racing.

When we finally landed on the first floor of her house, I analyzed the scene in front of me. Bobby and Fiona were sitting snug next to one another on one end of the couch, Matthew and the very pregnant Sarah were occupying the other two-thirds of the lengthy couch, her laying down with her feet in his lap. Fredrick was in a reclining chair, and Whitney was in a separate chair next to him. When I caught her eye, she gave me a brief nod of her head, and a small smile.

Maybe that is her way of acceptance?

There was a loveseat open, and I knew it would be a tight squeeze for both Annabeth and myself, so I debating if I should get myself a separate chair from the dining room, but Annabeth, taking control in her admirable way once again, pulled me towards the seat.

I sat down first, and she followed, half of her body squeezing in the only space, the other half laying on me. I wrapped one arm around her shoulder, and her head fell into the crook of my neck.

Without thinking about it, I placed a gentle kiss on the top of her honey curls, and it suddenly alarmed me how natural everything between us occurred.

 **A/N: Fun fact, this was typed on my car ride to Las Vegas. I realize that the pace of the story is somewhat slow, and kind of dragging, and I promise from here I will try and pick up the pace, so the story will wrap up nicely and not take so long to complete. Hope you all have a good weekend!**


	16. Option Two

**Annabeth POV**

My grey eyes slowly blinked open, squinting at the sunlight that poured in from the window, and the curtains that I must have forgotten to close last night.

I recalled the events from last night. Falling asleep while watching the chest Christmas movie with my family. Briefly waking up in Percy's arms as he carried my bridal style up the stairs to our room. Hs gently coaxing to remove my contacts before I fell asleep.

With my heart swelling from admiration, I slowly turned my head to look at my sleeping partner. His back was facing me, and once again he took off the rib brace and shirt, and so I was able to admire the curves and crevices of his tan back.

The damn man lived in Denver…. How was he so tan?

Our legs were touching, and although part of me screamed to remain in the comfortable bed with the hot boy, the rational side of my brain was begging to go workout and maybe attempt to clear my head from my conflicting thoughts.

Later in the day, Fredrick wanted to take Percy and I to the Fisherman's Wharf, which was mainly a tourist attraction with some great clam chowder. I admired the way that my dad was trying to reach out to Percy, and make him not feel like such an outsider. Where was this consideration and conclusive mentality of his all these years that I have been suffering?

As quiet as a mouse, I laced up my Nike running shoes, put on my contacts, and slipped on a from hugging long sleeve shirt and a pair of grey leggings. Debating on whether or not I should inform Percy of my whereabouts, I decided that if I were in his situation, I would not enjoy waking up alone and confused.

I grabbed an Expo marker, designed to leave messages on a whiteboard, and wrote a note on my full body mirror.

"On a run. Don't miss me too much. Wharf with my dad at 11."

I almost laughed. Last week I could have never imagined leaving a note for a sleeping "lover." But here I am, scribbling a note for a handsome man who is snoring slightly laying in my purple bedsheets.

…

Once in the urban neighborhood streets, my legs started to do the work, and my mind was able to clear.

The San Francisco scenery was blurred with fog, and the air had a bit of wind chill, but the feeling was familiar and more so comforting. It felt like all those other high school mornings where I would wake up before the sunrise, and run until my lungs were burning and my feet numb.

My legs seemed to have a mind of their own, and they took me to the nearest park, only two miles away. There was a long grassy field, green even in the winter months of December, and a play structure, where I had my first kiss behind the rock wall in 7th grade. I almost laughed aloud from the memory. Shaking my head, I slowed my jog to a walk, and found an isolated spot under a tree where I could do my workout, people watch my fellow park goers, and analyze my situation with Percy.

As I started doing squats, my horny unconsciousness meandered back to the imagine of Percy's shirtless back. And his clear green eyes. And his strong jawline that was tinted with the slightest indication of stubble. And his long, shaggy hair that covered his neck, and occasionally his forehead.

My legs and butt were burning from the motion, but my mind was still focused on my boyfriend, not the pain. What would happen in a week? When we have to say goodbye.

For a split second, I wished that my real mom was here, but as quickly as the thought came, it was shoved back into the pits of my mind. I couldn't allow myself to think of her, especially after I have kept all thoughts of her at bay for so many years. Unleashing those thoughts would be like unleashing a beast that has been in a cage for far too long, and I was not eager to face the repercussions.

I stopped doing squats as my legs and glutes started to shake, and laid down on my back and began to do sit ups. Instead of only thinking about what would happen in a week with Percy, I decided to think, what would happen now.

I came to a conclusion, that I have two options. Number one: Keep holding back the desires I have for Percy, and keep quelling the possible connection that we could explore. Number two: Just fucking go for it.

My phone rang, and my body ceased the sit-ups and I relaxed on my back in the grass. With a glance at the caller ID, the unknown number and area code hinted to me that Percy was calling. With a grin slowly spreading over my features, revealing my white, slightly too big in my opinion teeth, I pressed the green button to answer the call.

"Percy?"

"Angel," his whispered voice came out.

I laughed. "Why are you whispering?"

"You left me alone! I saw your note, but I was starving so I wandered downstairs, and came face to face with four out of six of the rest of the household!"

I gigged once again, and pictured the widened of his emerald eyes at the foreign situation.

He continued his story telling. "So, I stand there like a deer caught in headlights, until one of your brothers, the awkward one with the pregnant wife, finally invites me to sit and drink a cup of coffee. So I get some cereal and some coffee and they invite me to play golf with the men tomorrow."

I let him take a breath, wondering if there is any more to this long winded, somewhat pointless story.

Like expected, he keeps running his mouth. "And I felt like I was part of these elite, selected group of people, and I lived on a golf course growing up, so you just wait Angel I am going to blow them away with my skills tomorrow."

"Percy," I chuckle out. "Did you call me to tell me this?"

"Well Angel face, despite your adorable message on the mirror, which I thankfully caught due to my vain habits of checking myself out in every mirror I pass by, I do miss you and I am hiding in your room alone again, and I need you to come home."

I rolled my eyes at the arrogant comment about mirrors, but my heart swelled with affection with the latter statement.

"Don't worry. I'll be back in 15 minutes. Go play with Oscar in the meantime. See you soon!" I ended the call and slowly stood up from my position on the dew-covered grass, and regretted my choice when my back was soaked. Tightening my laces, I began my jog back to my parent's house, increasing my speed, knowing that Percy would be there.

I recalled my earlier statement about my two logical options about dealing with my inevitable feelings for Percy.

Without any hesitation, I decided to go for option number two.

Just fucking go for it…

 **A/N: I am so sorry! I can only imagine how disappointed you are with me as an author! First I make you wait over a month for an update, then it is just a filler chapter, but I swear I am already working on the next chapter as you read this, and the action will just heighten now that Annabeth will look past the expiration date on their dating. Also, I apologize for any typos, I published this the second I finished, and didn't even read through it again oops.**

 **Please leave a review with any thoughts you may have! I promise this will be updated soon.**


	17. Hot Tub

**Percy POV**

I slowly opened the door that connected Annabeth's bedroom to the upstairs hallway and stair case, and peered out of it.

I was scanning the area for any sign of her huge family that would sneak up on me and try and force conversation with me as I ventured down to find the cat.

If the damn thing was special to Annabeth, I'm sure I could find some good in the feline.

I strained my ears to listen for any rustling in the kitchen, and was relived to not hear anything. I took a step outside the comfort of my private sanctuary of my fake (but not so fake in my mind) girlfriend's room, and into the harsh world outside of the house so big it could be considered a mansion.

I felt like a secret spy as I took light steps down the stairs, scanning for the black and white ball of fur, while trying to avoid the other members of the household.

I spotted Oscar, peering out the window, basking in the sunlight, and I tentatively took a couple strides toward the animal. I reached my hand out over his small, fragile head. I was carefully not to be as rough as I would be with Blackjack, and instead was as gentile as could be.

As the feline started to purr, I kept repeating the motion of rubbing my hand down his body.

The front door handle jiggled and I froze in my tracks, fearing that I would have to face Whitney again. When I whipped my body around to check the intruder in the house, I exhaled when I realized it was just Annabeth.

Her hair was tied in a messy bun at the top of her head, and her form fitting clothes accented the curves on her body that I was aching to become accustomed to. To run my hands over. She had a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, and her cheeks were flushed pink from the exercise.

Damn, that my angel…

"Percy, I am honestly surprised that you are willingly socializing with the cat."

I looked at Oscar, and he looked back at me, cocking his head to the side.

"I was lonely."

She laughed. "Well maybe he can keep you company while I go and take a quick shower. Unless," she paused and walked towards me. "You don't mind smelling my sweat all day."

She threw her arms over my shoulders and rubbed her sweaty forehead on my grey t-shirt. I laughed at her childish antics and attempted to gently shove her off of me, while secretly enjoying the feeling of her body pushed against my own. The way that she just seemed to fit.

"Go take a shower you sicko," I said, while grabbing her wrists, and, unfortunately, tearing them away from my body.

Annabeth took half a step away from me, looked up at me with her grey doe eyes from under her lashes, and gave me a coy, teasing smile that made my heart dance.

It was like this girl a bomb in my heart, and each smile was closer to detonating it, unleashing all of the pent-up emotions that have been building from the second she walked into that airport bar in Denver.

As she turned away from me, and strutted up the stairs towards our bedroom for the week, my eyes lingered on her fleeting body, and decided that her grey leggings would be the death of me.

…

"So, Percy," Fredrick Chase met my eyes trough the rearview of the minivan that he was driving. Annabeth took the front seat, and I cramped my long legs into the back. "Have you ever been to San Francisco?"

My eyes met his in the mirror, and then I looked out back to look over they bay, that was still covered in a layer of fog.

"I drove through here when I had a ski comp in Tahoe, which is only like three hours away. But I haven't ever had the time to explore here. Is that the Golden Gate Bridge?" I asked as the red structure that stretched across the harsh ocean water came into view.

Annabeth laughed and turned around to face me. "Yeah it is Percy. Not as impressive as the internet makes it out to be huh?"

"I still think it's pretty damn gorgeous." I said while maintain eye contact with Annabeth, before looking back at the structure.

Fifteen minutes later we were parking into a cramped spot, and exiting the car. The wharf was decorated with small Christmas trinkets, reminding me that in two days it would be Christmas time, and I was spending it in a houseful of strangers.

I guess it wouldn't be the worst Christmas setting. Three years ago, after a bad fight with my mom and Paul, I refused to fly back to New York, and spent the entirety of Christmas eve until noon on Christmas day drinking, and blacked out. I woke up on Christmas with three girls I didn't recognize, on the couch in my apartment. That was when I was at my lowest point in my life, before my desire for gold fueled me to shift my focus from drugs and girls, to training and my progress.

I felt a dainty hand grab my own, and give it a gentle squeeze. I looked down to the blonde angel at my side, and admired the way her natural curls fell down her back. She laced our finger together, and I noticed her dad a couple steps ahead of us, leading us to a great lunch restaurant.

"Are you all good?" Annabeth asked me in a soft voice. "You left me for a second."

I gave her a soft smile. "I'm perfect. Looking forward to some clam chowder."

She laughed and gave my hand a slight tug and we increased our pace to catch up to Fredrick, and conversation about the Wharf, the food, and other trivial matters flowed. He talked about his work as a history professor at San Francisco State, and some funny stories with his students, and when I told him I never went to college, instead of receiving an awkward stare or a condescending lecture, like I so often got when mentioning this fact to adults, he continued the conversation with a question about skiing.

Annabeth's eyes were bright and her face was beaming throughout the entire lunch date, as Fredrick and I created a bond, and she rekindled hers with him. The father daughter duo recalled their trip to Peru when Annabeth was 8, and funny stories.

For the entirety of lunch, Annabeth's hand was float from resting on my knee, as if for extra comfort, to up in the air as she used grand hand gestures to describe her stories.

…

Following lunch the three of us walked around Fisherman's Wharf, admired and sea lions and funky people of San Francisco, and allowed Fredrick to do some last-minute Christmas shopping.

By the time we arrived back at the Chase mansion, it was nearing six in the evening, and after greeting the rest of the family, the conclusion was made that everyone would be on their own for dinner, and we would reconvene for a game of cards later.

The large mash of a family all tinkered off to different crevices of the huge house that I was yet to explore, due to the fact that I was scared to leave the safe zone of Annabeth's room. The house was huge, so I imagined there had to be a nice office and probably a movie theater and knowing Mr. Chase I wouldn't be surprised if there was a room dedicated to his passion for history.

Once Annabeth and I were left alone, she turned to me with a devious smirk on her face. "Want to go in the hot tub? I'll get some wine."

My own face lit up. Annabeth in a swimsuit. Yes. A hot tub. Yes. Wine. Although I was more of a beer person, yes.

I said a quick thanks to whatever god was listening that I packed a swimsuit for the intended journey to New York. Thinking of New York, I made the split decision to call my mom again tonight, along with Grover, to check up on Blackjack, and any other gossip in Aspen.

I looked back to give Annabeth confirmation, but she was already up the stairs, saying "I get to change first" and flipping me off while slamming the door shut. What an angel.

After ten minutes of me making small talk about Colorado with Fiona, the model who somehow knew more about me than Annabeth did, and the very pregnant Sarah, I felt a hand at the small of my back, and immediately felt the comforting presence of Annabeth.

I spun around to face her, and my eyes did a quick once over of her body, even thought my mind was screaming at them to remain focused on her eyes.

 _Fuck I need to get laid…._

"Go change you doofus," she said and leaned closer to me to whisper in my ear her next statement, "And stop checking out the taken ladies." Her eyes glanced back over to Sarah and Fiona.

Before I had a chance to defend myself, she was shoving me towards the stairs.

Oh man if only she knew who my attention was really on.

…

"Fuck this feels good," I said as I slipped my stiff body that was used to being enclosed in a brace into the hot tub.

I had a hot tub on the deck in my apartment in Aspen, and until today, I thought that nothing would be better than sitting in my hot tub as it snowed after a long day of skiing. As I watched Annabeth's body carved by Jesus himself, covered in a teal bikini, slide into the water, I realized that sharing any hot tub with Annabeth was better than me sitting in mine alone.

Annabeth let out a moan as she followed me into the warm, bubbling water. Once she realized the noise that came from her mouth, she blushed beet red.

I laughed at her, and poured us two full glasses of wine from the expensive bottle that Whitney gave to us. She settled next to me, and her leg was lightly touching mine, sending waves of electricity up my entire body. How did she mange to do this to me?

"Cheers to us," she said and lifted her glass.

"Last time we did this, we were participating in a 'whose life sucks more contest' if I remember correctly," I said with a laugh as I clinked my glass with hers and took a sip.

After swallowing the expensive aged wine, appreciating the way it flowed down my throat., I spoke up again. "I think I am still in the lead for that one. Your family hasn't been bad at all."

"Oh you just wait. The fangs will be shown at some point. It just feels like the calm before the storm. Bobby and Matthew haven't really started talking about work yet. But you're right, having you here as my decoy has made it so different. Last Christmas I spent almost every night alone in my room, crying myself to sleep. Pathetic, I know."

She stared off into a corner of the yard, while slowly sipping her wine.

I let her think, waiting for her to say something else on the topic. I wanted her to be vulnerable with me. To continue to open up.

Instead she said, "It seems like so long ago that we were just strangers in the airport bar. In reality, that was just three days ago. That doesn't even seem right..." Her voice trailed off at the end.

"Some bonds don't take years to form. When a connection like ours is made, time isn't a factor," I replied.

We stayed in silent for a minute or two, sipping our wine. Suddenly, Annabeth stood and moved her body to where she was sitting right next to me, almost on my lap. She gently placed her head on my bicep, sliding her body lower into the water, but keeping her glass of wine in her hand.

"Percy, I'm scared."

I moved the arm that she was laying on, and snaked it around her shoulders, so her head was now laying on my chest.

I wanted to ask what she was scared of, but instead I decided that I would allow her to speak her mind when she was ready.

"I'm here for you angel."

Slowly, she straightened her body so my arm fell off from her side, and I was immediately hit with a sense of confusion and slight hurt. Was that not the right response?

Annabeth set her glass on wine down on the side of the hot tub, and did the thing I was least expecting her to do.

It all happened so fast, but seeming in slow motion all at the same time.

Annabeth threw a leg over my body, so she was straddling me. My own limbs seemed to move on their own, and my arms wound themselves around her small waist, holding her in place. She raised her hands, wet from the water, and set one on my shoulder, running it from my collar bone to my bicep in a slow, taunting motion, and the other came to cup my chin.

We made eye contact for a brief second, before her lips came crashing down on mine.

The moment our lips came into contact, my heart exploded and my head turned to mush. I couldn't think logically, but all I knew was that this felt right.

The kiss quickly escalated, and our mouths were soon moving slowly against one another, our tongues meeting in the middle, preforming a sexy dance with one another. The kiss was so perfect it almost felt rehearsed, but in reality, it was the furthest thing from that.

I kept one of my hands firmly holding her tiny waist under the water, and raised the other one to cup her cheek, admiring how soft her skin felt compared to my calloused hand.

Annabeth's two small hands ended up at the nape of my neck, playing with my slightly wet hair.

Unfortunately, after eternity seemed to pass by, Annabeth gently pulled her lips away from mine, and rested her forehead against my own, with her eyes shut.

I wanted to say something to break the silence, but my mind was still mush from the kiss, and I didn't trust my heart to control the speaking. If that were the case, I would definitely start blubbering nonsense about my feelings that would terrify both Annabeth and myself.

Finally, with her forehead still resting on mine, and her two legs still on each side of my waist, straddling me, she whispered, "When I'm with you, everything is better. I want to make the most of this time we have together; no barriers."

I lifted my own lips into a soft smile. "That sounds amazing to me."

 **A/N: There it is! They finally kissed! Hopefully it was what you all wanted to read. From here, their relationship will only pick up, and the scenes will develop into a PG-13 rating, just a heads up.**

 **Updating this one from an airport in Vegas, so I had some inspiration. ;)**

 **Please please leave a review for me. I don't want to ask for a certain number of reviews on a chapter before the next update, but it would be encouraging to see more.**


	18. Heartbreaker

**Annabeth POV**

I don't know what made me do it.

Maybe it was the way his obsidian hair looked when it was dripping and slicked back off his forehead. Maybe the way the water from the hot tub trailed down his chest, in a slow, taunting fashion. Or maybe the way my heart swelled when he uttered words of condolence that I haven't heard in years.

I was fully aware of the fact that my Whitney was probably spying on us, or the fact that my mom was probably ready to deal cards, but my mind was clouded with the way Percy's sea green eyes pierced my own; the way they seemed to divulge all my secrets with one stare.

I want to know everything about this man.

My forehead rested on his, and I shut my eyes. His hands were slowly running up and down my waist, dropping dangerously low at times, giving me goosebumps despite the hot water. Deciding to live up to my bold statements of no barrier between us, I crashed my lips to his own once again.

My hands settled on his shoulders, reaching around to grab his hair and pull him to me, while his hands couldn't seem to find a place to rest.

While our lips danced a ferocious dance and our kisses showed our desperation, his big hands that have always felt like home went from tightly gripping my waist, to tugging on my curls, to cupping my ass and grabbing my thighs that still straddled him.

"Percy," I briefly lifted my lips away from his own to moan his name.

He responded my reaching one hand up to the back of my wet, probably messy, curly mane and pushed my face back to his own. He claimed my lips once again, and I came to the conclusion that kissing Percy was addicting, and starting was dangerous because pulling away would be impossible. Percy's tongue played with my own, as his plump lips caressed mine.

For a split second, I wondered how many lucky girls have had the chance to kiss this Greek god, but the thought was quickly forgotten as his hand cupped my cheek, and tucked a stand of hair away from my forehead.

After what could have been two minutes or maybe two hours, he pulled away, and I found myself missing the warmth of his body as I slid off of his lap, noticing the bulge where I was just sitting, and smirking slightly to myself.

He let out a huge breath, and leaned his head back, and I attempted to readjust my bathing suit to make sure everything was properly covered.

"Angel," he spoke softly.

My eyes remained locked on him, but his head was leaning up and he was staring at the stars.

"I know I'm speaking on the euphoria of the kiss, but you are the most beautiful woman I have ever had the chance to know. Your soul sparkles and your wisdom is beyond it's years."

He stopped and my heart swelled to a size I couldn't even imagine. I had butterflies beating against my chest. My pulse was racing.

It has only been a couple of days, yet a word that started with the letter L was making whispers in the back of my subconscious.

Finally his head came down and he made eye contact with me. The hungry look in his eye had somewhat calmed down, and was replaced by a softer, more affectionate stare.

"No barriers. You are my girlfriend."

I let out a small giggle and moved back to where our legs could rest against one another.

"You know I've only had one boyfriend before?" I grabbed my glass of wine and threw my legs over his lap and rested them there. His hands settled under the water on my quad, right above my knee, tracing circles.

He let out what sounded like a scoff, "I would have never guessed it. I pin you to be the 'dates the star football player' in high school type of girl."

Now it was my turn to scoff. "Not even close. But I do peg YOU," I poked my index finger into his chest, "to be the heartbreaker."

He swiftly grabbed my finger and held my hand in his own. Once again I laughed at his goofy antics.

"I must admit. Young Percy had some bad habits."

The mood seemed to shift to be somber. I remained quiet in hopes to urge him to continue. I wanted to read deeper into the book titled "Percy Jackson" that has been closed for so long.

He took a deep breath before continuing. "My dad was the best skier I've ever seen. When he was on the mountain, it was like he transformed into a god. He made every turn his bitch, and was constantly surpassing limits. He shaped me into the skier I am."

I held his hand in my two smaller ones, stroking his skin with my thumb.

Percy started talking faster and more frantically, "It only seems fitting that he died doing something he loved. My mom always told him he was going to kill himself, and once he actually did, all of her hatred for the spot was projected on to me. And I know that she just wants to keep her oldest son and only memory of my dad alive, but I have to win a gold medal for him. I have to keep skiing. I have to Annabeth, I just have to win for him."

I gave him a second, thinking he was done talking, but he kept going, despite the way his voice would crack and his eyes brimmed with tears, the first sign of weakness that I have seen from a man who I thought was unshakable.

"When my mom and her new husband moved to New York, I was only 16, but I stayed in Aspen alone, so I could continue training with Grover. I turned to things that were toxic to my mind, body and progress on the slope. Then about a year or two ago, I realized that I was never going to actually win at the X-Games or maybe even qualify for the Olympics if I didn't cut the shit. So, long story short, I was a heartbreaker for a little." He cleared his throat and came back to reality.

He shifted slightly in the hot tub, and tried to pull his hand out of mine, but I held on even tighter.

I spoke softly, "I already told you, I am going to help you bounce back, and we are going to win a gold medal."

Instead of these words feeling like an empty promise that didn't have any backing, I spoke with conviction and courage. The statement had a deeper meaning; I am not leaving after this week.

He reached his hands, that started to get wrinkly from being in the water for so long, up to cup my cheeks, and gently tilted my head down, so he could set his lips on my forehead, in a sweet, lingering kiss.

"Let's do it angel," he said. Then, as if the suffocating seriousness of the past hour was too much, he added, "I'm ready to go hand your brothers their asses in a game of poker, let's go change."

I laughed and lifted myself out of the steaming water, fully aware of the way Percy's eyes ran up and down my body as I did so. He didn't even try to hide his wandering stare.

 **Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY. Almost a year later lol. Sorry guys life caught up to me, but I am back and better than ever. I realized how much I hate unfinished stories, so I will work to finish this for all of you! Things have been so busy with college applications and senior year, but I will work on dedicating time to write (not just application essays).**

 **Like always, sorry for any typos or grammatical errors.**

 **Enjoy!**


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